George Nicoll Barnes (2 January 1859 – 21 April 1940) was a British
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician and a
Leader of the Labour Party (1910–1911).
Early life
Barnes was born on 2 January 1859 in
Lochee
Lochee () is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee. It is notable for being home to Camperdown Works, which was the largest jute production ...
,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, the second of five sons of James Barnes, a skilled engineer and mill manager from
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, and his wife, Catherine Adam Langlands. His brother T. B. Barnes was also active in politics, later becoming a Labour Party councillor in Dundee.
The family moved back to England and settled at
Ponders End
Ponders End is the southeasternmost part of Enfield, north London, centred on the Hertford Road. Situated to the west of the River Lee Navigation, it became industrialised through the 19th century, similar to the Lea Valley in neighbouring Edm ...
in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, where his father managed a
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
mill in which George himself began working at the age of eleven, after attending a church school at
Enfield Highway
Enfield Highway is an area in the London Borough of Enfield, north London. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road (Enfield Highway) between Hoe Lane and The Ride.
Etymology
Enfield Highway is marked thus on the Ordnance ...
. He then spent two years as an
engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...
, first at Powis James of
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 ...
then at Parker's foundry,
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
.
After finishing his apprenticeship he worked for two years at the
Vickers
Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...
shipyard in
Barrow before returning once again to the
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 ...
area, where he experienced unemployment during the slump of 1879. He had a number of short-term jobs before settling for eight years at
Lucas and Aird
Lucas and Aird was a major civil engineering business operating in the 19th century.
History
The business was formed as a joint venture between Lucas Brothers and John Aird & Co. in 1870. The joint venture was dissolved in 1896.
Major projects
...
in
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
.
Trade union and political involvement
During his time in London, Barnes became an active member of the
Amalgamated Society of Engineers
The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics.
History
The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and M ...
. He stood for the general secretaryship of the union in 1895, but was narrowly defeated by the incumbent,
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to:
Business
*John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland
* John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
. However, the following year, Anderson was dismissed for "wilful neglect of duty", and Barnes easily beat him in a new election. Barnes was a committed member of the
co-operative movement
The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...
, and a keen if moderate socialist, which led him to join 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 ...
on its foundation in 1893.
Parliamentary career
At the
1895 general election he stood unsuccessfully for 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 ...
in
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
. He was elected as
MP for
Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown
Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown, representing parts of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 U ...
at the
1906 general election for the Labour Party, becoming one of the first two Labour MPs to be elected in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
He sat for Blackfriars and Hutchesontown until the constituency was abolished for the
1918 general election, and thereafter sat for
Glasgow Gorbals (which covered the same area) until he stood down at the
1922 election.
From high office to expulsion
Barnes was Leader of the Labour Party from 14 February 1910 to 6 February 1911. , he is the shortest-serving Labour leader, remaining in the post for only 11 months. He was
Minister of Pensions (1916–1917), rising to
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...
as one of
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
's powerful five member war cabinet (1917–1920). In 1918 the Labour Party decided to leave the
Lloyd George Coalition but Barnes refused to resign. As a result, he was expelled from the Labour Party, and with the
British Workers League
The British Workers League was a 'patriotic labour' group which was anti-socialist and pro-British Empire. Founded originally as the ''Socialist National Defence Committee'', the league operated fro''May 1916''to 1927.
The league's origins lay ...
founded the pro-coalition
National Democratic and Labour Party
The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party (NDP), was a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom.
History
The party's origins lay in a split by the right wing of the British Socialist Party ...
, many of whose candidates were elected on the
Coalition Coupon
The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...
in December 1918. He also stood in 1918 under the
Coalition Labour
Coalition Labour was a description used by candidates in the 1918 United Kingdom general election who identified with trade unionism and supported the outgoing coalition government, which retained power at the election. The Labour Party had lef ...
title. As a reward for his loyalty, he was a participant at the Paris Peace Conference, he was instrumental in the creation of the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
(ILO),
he was a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles, he is featured in William Orpen's famous painting of the treaty signing
(seated second from the right), and he was lionised in the iconic painting, "Statesmen of World War I"
(standing directly above Winston Churchill).
Later life
After resigning as a minister early in 1920 he played no further significant role in
British politics
The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the ...
. In March 1920 he was appointed a
Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...
for his ministerial services. He quit politics when the Labour Party announced that it would again field a candidate against him in the
general election of 1922. As it was clear that the tide would turn strongly towards the official Labour candidates throughout Glasgow, and as he had no wish to serve in any other party, he decided to withdraw from his seat.
Barnes had a long and active retirement, continuing to support the
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...
, serving as chairman of the Co-operative Printing Society, and publishing several books, including his autobiography, ''From Workshop to War Cabinet'' (1923), and a ''History of the International Labour Office'' (1926). He was a pleasant-looking, mild-mannered man, but little is known about his private life. In 1882 he had married Jessie, daughter of Thomas Langlands, with whom he had two sons and a daughter; his youngest son was killed in action in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
while serving as a Second Lieutenant with the
Gordon Highlanders
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
during the
First World War
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 ...
.
In 1932, he became the first president of the pacific organization
The New Commonwealth The New Commonwealth was an international organisation created in London in 1932 with branches in France and Germany. It advocated pacifism, disarmament and multilateral resolution of conflicts through political lobbying and different publications.
...
. He died in 1940 at his London home, and was buried in Fulham Cemetery.
References
Bibliography
*
Barnes, George Nicoll in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, George Nicoll
1859 births
1940 deaths
Politicians from Dundee
People from Ponders End
Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs
Leaders of the Labour Party (UK)
Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates
Scottish engineers
Scottish Labour MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
National Democratic and Labour Party MPs
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1918–1922
Coalition Labour MPs
General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Engineering Union
Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
People from Lochee
Engineers from Dundee