Fleming Eccles (1871 or 1872 – March 1925) 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, ...

socialist politician and

trade unionist 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 Employee ben ...

. Born in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

,''

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...

'', March 1925, p.18 Eccles worked as a weaver and was promoted to become an overlooker. He also took an interest in trade unionism, and became a branch secretary for the

National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

."Mr. Fleming Eccles", ''

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 ...

'', 18 March 1925, p.11 Eccles was also a member of 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 ...

(SDF), serving as financial secretary of one of its Blackburn branches, and also on its national Executive Committee. Through this became active in the Labour Representation Committee, for which he represented on Blackburn Town Council in 1903, and also to the local

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

. He stood down from his elected positions in 1906 as he became the Gas Workers' assistant district secretary for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, succeeding

J. R. Clynes John Robert Clynes (27 March 1869 – 23 October 1949) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 35 years, and as Leader of the Labour Party (1921–1922), led the party in its breakthroug ...

as district secretary in 1917. Eccles stood in Rutland and Stamford at the 1918 general election, taking 46.4% of the vote, and again in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

, where his vote dropped to 32.9%. At the 1923 general election he instead stood in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. This was a two-seat constituency, and his running mate

Albert Law Albert Law (28 December 1872 – 22 October 1956) was a British Labour Party politician. Law was born in Bolton, and worked as a cotton spinner in the town. He became active in the Bolton and District Operative Cotton Spinners' Provincial Ass ...

topped the poll, but Eccles could only take fifth place and again failed to be elected. By this time, he was active in the reconstituted SDF, formed by supporters of British involvement in

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 ...

. Eccles' son, Tom, followed him into trade unionism, as did his grandson, Jack Eccles.Janice Mitchell,
Jack Eccles obituary
, ''

The 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 ...

'', 7 March 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eccles, Fleming 1870s births 1925 deaths Councillors in Lancashire Trade unionists from Lancashire Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Social Democratic Federation members People from Blackburn