James Henry Hall (24 March 1877 – 6 June 1942), known as J. H. Hall, was an English trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Whitechapel and St Georges division of Stepney from 1930 to 1931, and again from 1935 to 1942.

Career

Hall became interested in trade unionism in his youth, and rose to become a member of the executive committee of the Transport and General Workers Union. He became an alderman of

Stepney Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The bo ...

, and before his election to Parliament was employed as a foreman by the

Port of London Authority The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...

. He was first elected to the House of Commons a by-election in December 1930, following the death of the Labour MP Harry Gosling. His 39% share of the vote was well below the 63% achieved by Gosling at the 1929 general election, the Liberal vote having increased significantly while the Communist Party contested the seat for the first time; their candidate was the party's General Secretary Harry Pollitt, who won nearly 10% of the votes. Hall blamed the fall in the Labour vote on the economic difficulties faced by the Labour Government, and on a "flood of misrepresentation" from the government's opponents. At the general election in October 1931, the left-wing vote was again split. Pollitt polled over 10% of the votes and Hall lost the seat to Barnett Janner, the Liberal who had been runner-up at the by-election. However, at the 1935 general election Hall re-took the seat in a straight fight with Janner. In reporting his victory, ''The Times'' noted that he had "worked in the trade union movement for over 40 years". Hall died in office in June 1942, aged 65, having been too ill to attend the House of Commons for the previous eight months. At the resulting by-election for his parliamentary seat, the Labour candidate Walter "Stoker" Edwards was returned unopposed.

Family

Hall married Theresa Ellen Coleman from Leyton. They had a son and three daughters.

References

External links

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Announcement of death to Parliament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, J. H. 1877 births 1942 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 English trade unionists Members of Stepney Metropolitan Borough Council Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs