Frederick Brocklehurst (1866–1926) 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, ...

political activist best known for his early involvement in the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

movement. Brocklehurst began working in a silk mill when only ten years old. He subsequently worked at the presses of the ''

Manchester Courier The ''Manchester Courier'' was a daily newspaper founded in Manchester, England, by Thomas Sowler; the first edition was published on 1 January 1825. Alaric Alexander Watts was the paper's first editor, but remained in the position for only a yea ...

'' newspaper, before obtaining a scholarship to

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, where he graduated in law.Leon Fink, ''Workers Across the Americas: The Transnational Turn in Labor History'' An activist in the

Labour Church The Labour Church was an organization intended to give expression to the religion of the labour movement. It had a Christian socialist outlook, specifically called theological socialism. History The first Labour Church was founded at Manchester in ...

, he returned to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

after John Trevor passed the church leadership to him.James R. Moore, ''The Transformation of Urban Liberalism'', p.282 He was a founder member of the

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 in 1894 was elected to its national council. Brocklehurst stood for the ILP 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 ...

at the 1895 general election. In 1896, Brocklehurst was arrested and imprisoned for giving a speech at Boggart Hole Clough Park, on behalf of the ILP. This was in contravention of a controversial new

bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

prohibiting public speaking in Manchester's parks. However, public opinion was with Brocklehurst and in 1897, he was elected to

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

, defeating the chairman of the parks committee. He was also elected to the Manchester School Board, on which he campaigned against school fees and subsidies for religious schools. He became well known for proposing improved sporting and recreational facilities for the city. The ILP was one of the organisations which founded the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) in 1900; this organisation later became the Labour Party. Brocklehurst was initially proposed as its secretary, but he withdrew as he was unwilling to move to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where the LRC would be based. Instead, the less experienced

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

was chosen. At the 1900 general election, Brocklehurst stood for the Labour Representation Committee in Manchester South West.David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888-1906'', p.224 Brocklehurst advocated for a British victory in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and this concerned many in the ILP. He was enthusiastically supported by 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 ...

'', but not by the official

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and was not elected. He threatened to sue any opponent claiming that he was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

. Later in the 1900s, Brocklehurst qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He defected from the ILP to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, for which he stood unsuccessfully in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient parish o ...

at the

December 1910 general election The December 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 3 to 19 December. It was the last general election to be held over several days and the last to be held before the History of the United Kingdom during the First World War, First Wo ...

. In 1917, he started a local

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

group named "Britain for the British".Adam Seipp, ''The Ordeal of Peace'', p.82

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brocklehurst, Fred 1866 births 1926 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English barristers Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Councillors in Manchester Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) politicians