Christopher John Kelly (born 1888) was a British politician and trade unionist, who served on London County Council, but was later convicted of theft. Born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

, Kelly worked on the railways and became prominent in the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR). In his youth, he was a keen footballer, and captained the Northern United team when it won the Railway Challenge Cup three years in a row. He was a supporter of the Labour Party and was elected to

Poplar Borough Council Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a metropolitan borough in the County of London in 1900. It comprised Poplar, Millwall, Bromley ...

in 1919, representing Bromley North East, holding the seat until 1928. Also in 1919, he was elected to the Metropolitan Water Board, while he served on the Poplar Board of Guardians for six years. He was a supporter of the Poplar Rates Rebellion in 1921, but unlike many of the local councillors, he was not imprisoned. At the

1922 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 2 March 1922. It was the eleventh triennial election of the whole council. There were sixty dual member constituencies and one four member constituency, making a total of 124 seats. The ...

, Kelly was elected in Whitechapel and St George's. He later claimed that, after the declaration, he had only 2d remaining, just sufficient to pay his tram fare home. He stood for Bethnal Green North East at the

1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party ha ...

, and took second place, with 38.7% of the vote. At the

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935 and resulted in a large, albeit reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party. The greatest number of members, ...

, he stood in Norwich, but took only fourth place, with 17.8% of the vote. After his defeat in Norwich, Kelly's political expenses were no longer covered by the NUR and Labour Party, but Kelly continued to speak on behalf of the party. This led him into financial difficulties, and in October 1936 he stole jewellery from luggage he was transporting across London. The passenger owning the luggage lived in Edinburgh and reported the theft to police there. When Kelly attended a Labour Party conference in Edinburgh later in the month, he attempted to sell some of the jewellery; this was identified by local police, and he was arrested. In court, he admitted to similar offences committed over a three-month period, and he was sentenced to three months in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Christopher John 1888 births Year of death missing British politicians convicted of crimes Trade unionists from London Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of London County Council Members of Poplar Metropolitan Borough Council People from Lambeth