George Francis Johnson (1872–1958) was a British socialist politician who devoted much of his life to the Independent Labour Party (ILP). Born in London, Johnson worked various jobs, including a period as an actor. He trained as a scientific instrument maker, then became a schoolteacher in Norwich in about 1900, focusing on teaching practical skills. He joined the National Union of Teachers, soon becoming president of its Norfolk association, and also served as president of the Norwich Class Teachers' Association. Around 1905, he joined the ILP and, through it, the Labour Party; by the mid-1920s, he was president of the Norwich ILP, and secretary of the Norwich Labour Party. Later in the decade, he became the chairman of the ILP's Eastern Division. At the

1922 United Kingdom general election The 1922 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 15 November 1922. It was won by the Conservative Party, led by Bonar Law, which gained an overall majority over the Labour Party, led by J. R. Clynes, and a divided Liberal Party. ...

, Johnson stood for the Labour Party in Norwich. He took 15.7% and fourth place in the two-seat constituency. He next contested

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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 ...

, taking third place with 17.8% of the vote. The ILP split from the Labour Party in 1932, and the East Anglian Division of the ILP became a stronghold of the

Revolutionary Policy Committee {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Revolutionary Policy Committee (RPC) was a faction within the former British political party, the Independent Labour Party (ILP). The RPC was formed in 1931 by members of the ILP who were especially unhappy wit ...

, which advocated that the ILP should instead join the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

. Johnson opposed this approach, instead working with John Middleton Murry on a manifesto which proposed an independent trajectory for the party. They ultimately triumphed, and from 1934, Johnson served as the division's representative on the party's National Administrative Council (NAC). He was also elected to

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It form ...

, on which he worked closely with the Labour Party, and by the end of the decade, he advocated the ILP reaffiliating to the Labour Party. Johnson was made an alderman on the city council in 1939, and was selected by the ILP as its Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Norwich at the next election, although due to World War II, this was not held until 1945, by which time the party had decided not to stand in the seat. He stood down from the NAC in 1945, but remained active in the party until his death in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, George 1872 births 1958 deaths Independent Labour Party councillors Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Councillors in Norfolk Politicians from London