Albert Taylor (15 October 1877 – 1947) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist and political activist. Living in

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east of ...

, Taylor was a shoemaker, and in 1895 he was a founder member of the

Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives The Rossendale Union of Boot, Shoe and Slipper Operatives was a trade union representing workers in the footwear trade in the Rossendale area of Lancashire. The union was founded in 1895,University of Warwick Modern Records Centre,Rossendale U ...

, and soon became its part-time general secretary, becoming full-time in 1909. He was also a supporter of socialism, joining the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

, and attending the founding conference of the Labour Representation Committee. Taylor opposed

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

, although he served on the Rawtenstall Tribunal until late 1916, when he was removed over the protests of the local labour movement. He was offered an exemption from being called up if he could find work of national importance. He refused to do so, and in January 1917, he was called up. At this time, Taylor was a candidate in the

1917 Rossendale by-election The 1917 Rossendale by-election was a parliamentary by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Rossendale on 13 February 1917. Vacancy The by-election was caused by the elevation to the peerage of the sitting Liberal MP, ...

, describing his campaign as "Peace by Negotiation". He was a member of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

, but also received the support of the

No Conscription Fellowship The No-Conscription Fellowship was a British pacifist organization which was founded in London by Fenner Brockway and Clifford Allen on 27 November 1914, after the First World War had failed to reach an early conclusion. Other prominent suppor ...

, and individuals including

Charles Roden Buxton Charles Roden Buxton (27 November 1875 – 16 December 1942) was an English philanthropist and radical British Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party. He survived an assassination attempt during a mission to the Balkans in 1 ...

, R. C. Wallhead, and J. H. Standring, who acted as his

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...

. He failed to report for duty, and on 30 January, he was arrested, receiving extensive publicity. The ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated that "if Mr Taylor had had the arrangement of the time-table himself he could not have managed it more to his own advantage as a candidate". He was sentenced to sixty days in prison, but refused to undertake compulsory work while there, and ultimately served 112 days, the large majority in solitary confinement at

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

, surviving on bread and water. He ultimately took 1,804 votes, 23.1% of the total cast. After the war, Taylor's profile as a trade unionist increased. He represented his union at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

for 26 consecutive years, was elected to the Management Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions, and was the organisation's president for 1943 and 1944. While president, he argued that a programme of nationalisation would remove a major cause of war. He died in 1947, still in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Albert 1877 births 1947 deaths British Socialist Party members British anti–World War I activists British conscientious objectors General secretaries of British trade unions Independent British political candidates People from Bacup Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Social Democratic Federation members