Donald Himson Daines (1900 – 30 October 1956) was a British politician, a leading figure in the

London Labour Party London Labour is the devolved, regional part of the Labour Party in Greater London. It is the largest political party in London, currently holding a majority of the executive mayoralties, a majority of local councils, council seats and parli ...

. Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, Daines joined the local branch of the Independent Labour Party. After

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 ...

, he moved to Bermondsey, in London, then in 1925 was elected to

Leyton Borough Council Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford, London, Stratford to the south, with Clapton, London, Clapton, Hackney Wick ...

. In 1929, he was made an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

on the council, and in 1930 he served as deputy mayor. The secretary of the London Labour Party was Herbert Morrison, who became a government minister in 1940. Daines took over as acting secretary of the party, a full-time post. That year, he was also appointed to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

, to represent Kensington North. In 1945, he was instead appointed as an alderman on the council, then at the

1949 London County Council election An election to the County Council of London took place on 7 April 1949. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Conservative Party made substantial gains, achieving the ...

, he won a seat in Shoreditch and Finsbury. In 1947, Daines was finally appointed as permanent secretary of the London Labour Party. The following year, he was also appointed to a committee planning a new town at

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

and Hatfield. He later won election to the Welwyn Urban District Council, while remaining a member of the London County Council, and chairing its finance committee. He died, still in office, in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daines, Donald 1900 births 1956 deaths Councillors in Hertfordshire Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Politicians from Norwich