Robert Edwards (16 January 1905 – 4 June 1990) was a British

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ist and an

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP) and

Labour Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated Labour Co-op; cy, Llafur a'r Blaid Gydweithredol) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidat ...

politician. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) from 1955 to 1987.

Early life

Born in 1905, in The Dingle, Liverpool. His mother was a factory worker and his father was a harbour master. He had two brothers. One died at sea in the great war and the other was a crane operator on the docks of Liverpool and a musician. he was one of the youngest Labour councillors in Liverpool, becoming a councillor in 1927, aged 22. He also led an ILP Youth Delegation to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, where he met

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

. During the General Strike in 1926 he was a TUC messenger, delivering important messages to 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 ...

from individual unions. In the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, he led the ILP Contingent in the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (

POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( es, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, POUM; ca, Partit Obrer d'Unificació Marxista) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active a ...

) on the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

front.Orwell biography by Michael Shelden, Minerva paperback 1992 page 282 They left Spain in May 1937. Edwards was a leading member of the ILP after it split from the Labour Party in the 1930 and 1940s, serving as the party's Chairman from 1943 to 1948. Between 1947 and 1971, he was the General Secretary of the Chemical Workers' Union, and was also a member of the

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

Soviet links

Edwards was the recipient of the Order of the People's Friendship from the Soviet Union. Former KGB officer,

Oleg Gordievsky Oleg Antonovich Gordievsky, CMG (; born 10 October 1938) is a former colonel of the KGB who became KGB resident-designate (''rezident'') and bureau chief in London, and was a double agent, providing information to the British Secret Intelli ...

, who defected to the UK in 1985, claimed that Edwards had been a KGB agent for many years.

Parliamentary career

As an ILP candidate, Edwards unsuccessfully contested

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

at the 1935 general election, and

Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It is situated on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal, south of Manchester city centre, south of Salford and north-east of Altrincham. Str ...

at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in 1939 and the Newport by-election in 1945 (where he won 45.5% of the votes). He was elected as Labour Co-operative MP for

Bilston Bilston is a market town, ward, and civil parish located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshi ...

in the 1955 general election. The constituency was abolished in 1974, so in the February 1974 election, he stood successfully for

Wolverhampton South East Wolverhampton South East is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Members of Parliament ...

which covers a similar area. In 1983, when then 78, he became the oldest sitting British MP. Edwards stood down aged 82 in 1987 and was succeeded by

Dennis Turner Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston (26 August 1942 – 25 February 2014) was a British Labour Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East from 1987 to 2005. Early life Turner was born in Bradley in t ...

. The former Labour Party leader

Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on ''Tribune'' and the ''Evening Standard''. He co-wrote the 1940 p ...

became the oldest sitting British MP after Edwards' retirement.

Death

Edwards died in June 1990, aged 85, three years after his retirement from Parliament.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Bob 1905 births 1990 deaths Councillors in Liverpool Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies British trade union leaders UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 MEPs for the United Kingdom 1973–1979