John Edward Williams ( – 1917) was a British socialist activist. Born in Holloway, north of

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 ...

, Williams grew up in various

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

s. In the early 1870s, he became very active in the

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

movement, and became known for his

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as s ...

. This led him to join the

Rose Street Club The Rose Street Club (sometimes the International Rose Street Club and earlier the Local Rights Association for Rental and Sanitary Reform) was a far-left, anarchist organisation based in what is now Manette Street, London. Originally centr ...

. Then he was a founding member of the Democratic Federation, later renamed the ''Social Democratic Federation'' (SDF). Within the SDF, Williams was a prominent supporter of its leader, H. M. Hyndman. He campaigned for

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...

and, as a result, was twice imprisoned. At the 1885 general election, he stood for the party in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, but took only 27 votes. It was later revealed that the SDF candidacies at the election had been paid for by

Maltman Barry Michael Maltman Barry (1842 – 5 April 1909), often known as Maltman Barry, was a Scottish political activist who described himself as a Marxist but stood in elections for the Conservative Party. Biography Barry was born in Glasgow and moved t ...

, a

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 ...

agent who hoped they would split the "progressive" vote. Williams was elected to the executive council of the SDF on several occasions (in 1884, 1895, and 1896), but devoted much of his time to organising unemployed workers and making speeches on street corners. He was also a supporter of the new unionism, but struggled to find work and so was not centrally involved in the trade union movement. Williams stood for parliament a second time at the 1906 general election in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. He took 11.7 per cent of the votes cast, but was not elected. He retired in 1912. His health deteriorated, in part due to his earlier prison sentences, and he died in 1917.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jack (socialist activist) 1917 deaths British anti-capitalists People from Holloway, London Social Democratic Federation members Year of birth missing

See also

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links