James Gorman (1874 – May 1950) was a British politician and trade unionist. Born in Manchester, Gorman worked in a factory from an early age. He became involved in the socialist movement when he was eighteen, and two years later joined both 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) and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE). For some time, he also held membership of the Independent Labour Party. Early in the 1900s, Gorman moved to Salford, where he was rapidly elected as assistant secretary of his branch of the ASE. He was also elected as a delegate to the union's conferences in 1907, 1912, 1915 and 1917. But he was most prominent in the union as a member of its Final Appeal Court, which considered the cases of members who had broken union rules. To prepare for the position, he studied the history of the union and its forerunners, and obtained copies of union rules of which its general office was unaware. In 1917, Gorman began working full-time for the union as its Manchester Local Delegate, and the following year became its Organising District Delegate. From 1911 until 1925, he also served as a delegate to the Manchester and Salford Trades Council. Gorman was elected to Salford City Council for St Thomas' ward in 1918, serving for three years. He was then elected in a 1923 by-election in Weaste ward, and became known for his campaign for the city to form a civic choir, but lost the seat in 1925. Gorman stood in Salford South at the

1918 United Kingdom general election The 1918 United Kingdom general election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, and was held on Saturday, 14 December 1918. The governing coalition, under Prime Minister David Lloyd George, sent ...

, taking a distant second place, with 19.0% of the vote. He represented the Labour Party, but was sponsored by the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

, successor of the SDF, and ran a very left-wing campaign. 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. ...

, he again stood for the Labour Party, but this time in

Plymouth Drake Plymouth Drake was a borough constituency in the city of Plymouth, in Devon. It elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom by the first past the post system of election. History The first D ...

, where he replaced Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

William Henry Watkins William Henry Watkins (19 March 1862 – 29 July 1924) was a British co-operative activist. Born in Plymouth, Watkins studied at Plymouth Public School and the Apprentices School, then took politics and economics through the University of Oxfo ...

, who had fallen out with the local party. Gorman was sponsored by the

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

, successor of the ASE, and took 31.4% of the vote. By 1932, Gorman was resident in Higher Crumpsall in Manchester, and 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 ...

that year. He was selected as the Labour Party candidate for

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

in 1937, but although an election was expected in 1939 or 1940, it was not held due to World War II, and Gorman never contested the seat. He retired from his trade union posts in 1939, and became a Labour Supply Officer for the council during the war. Suffering from poor health, he retired from the council in 1947, and died three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorman, James 1874 births 1950 deaths Councillors in Manchester Councillors in Greater Manchester Trade unionists from Manchester Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Politicians from Manchester Social Democratic Federation members British Socialist Party members