James Walton (7 September 1867 – 26 January 1924) was a British miner, trade unionist and politician who served as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Don Valley in

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 ...

from 1918 to 1922.

Background

He was educated at Broomhill Board Schools. In 1889 he married the daughter of William Jackson.

Career

He started work as a miner. In 1881, he joined the recently founded

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

(YMA) at the age of 13. He was the Secretary of

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. Situated between Manvers and Denaby Main, it lies on the River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road runs through the town. It is contiguous ...

Trades council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

. He was a Delegate of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association. He was a supporter of the Liberal party. In 1914 he applied, along with others to contract out of paying a political levy to the Labour party in accordance with the terms of the

Trade Union Act 1913 The Trade Union Act of 1913 was passed by the Liberal British Government under Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asqui ...

. However, his efforts were frustrated by the YMA, whose executive was now controlled by active members of the Labour party. During World War One he publicly called upon the Yorkshire Miners not to take any strike action while the war was going on. This action resulted in a further falling out between himself and the YMA executive. Walton joined the newly founded

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 Part ...

(NDP) which supported

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 coalition government. He was elected at the 1918 general election as the

(MP) for Don Valley; On entering the House of Commons he brought with him 40 years of experience as a working miner. Early in 1919 when the YMA called for strike action he publicly opposed the call. In May 1919 the YMA Executive succeeded in getting the YMA Council to vote (by a card vote) to expel Walton from membership. In 1920 he supported the Coalition government proposal to establish a Ministry of Mines. He decided to take the YMA to court for expelling him from membership and in March 1921, the judge found in his favour, stating that the YMA by depriving him of his rights and privileges, were in breach of their own rules. In May 1922 he supported the Coalition government Bill to amend the

to make Unions ballot their members more about party political donations. He had become convinced that the political opt-out measures did not work and that something stronger was required."Parliament." Times ondon, England20 May 1922: 6. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. However, the bill was not given sufficient time to be passed into law. The NDP broke up in 1922 when its leader

George Nicoll Barnes George Nicoll Barnes (2 January 1859 – 21 April 1940) was a British Labour politician and a Leader of the Labour Party (1910–1911). Early life Barnes was born on 2 January 1859 in Lochee, Dundee, the second of five sons of James Barnes, a ...

retired from Parliament, and along with the remaining other NDP MPs Walton joined the National Liberal Party. He contested that year's general election as a National Liberal, but was heavily defeated by the Labour Party candidate Tom Williams and did not stand for Parliament again;

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, James 1867 births 1924 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies National Democratic and Labour Party MPs UK MPs 1918–1922 National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians British coal miners People from Mexborough English miners