Joseph James Vaughan (1878 – 1938) was a British politician.

Early life and career

Born in East London, Vaughan began working at the age of eight, but remained at school part-time until he was thirteen. He worked a wide variety of jobs before he was apprenticed to a former Chartist. This encouraged him to become a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

and join the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. However, he soon grew disillusioned with the party, and instead joined 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 ...

(BSP).Graham Stevenson,
Vaughan Joseph
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' Vaughan eventually settled into a career as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

, joined the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) and became president of Bethnal Green

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 ...

. The BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and it was under this party label that Vaughan was elected to Bethnal Green Borough Council in 1914.Ed. John Riddell, ''To the Masses: Proceedings of the Third Congress of the Communist International'', p.1247 He was the only Labour member of the council until 1919, when the party won a large majority. As the only councillor with experience, he was elected mayor each year from 1919 until 1921. In 1920, he was a founder member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

(CPGB), and the following year attended the Third World Congress of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...

. However, he also remained a member of Labour, even serving on the executive of the

London Labour Party London Labour is the devolved, regional part of the Labour Party in Greater London. It is the largest political party in London, currently holding a majority of the executive mayoralties, a majority of local councils, council seats and parli ...

. Vaughan stood for Bethnal Green South West at the

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and 1923 general elections for the Labour Party, with the endorsement of the CPGB, narrowly missing election on both occasions. However, the Labour Party nationally had decided to expel CPGB members from the party. The Bethnal Green Labour Party refused to endorse this, and was instead disaffiliated by Labour - the first of several such disaffiliations around the country. It became the "Left-Wing Committee", and the following year, Vaughan was a founder of the National Left-Wing Movement, which attempted to draw these disaffiliated groups together and promote a Labour-Communist alliance. At the 1924 general election, Vaughan stood for the first time as a CPGB candidate without official Labour support, but he did not face a Labour opponent, and achieved his best result, only 212 votes behind the winner. However, the council election was a different matter; Labour stood a candidate against him, and he narrowly lost his council seat to a Liberal Party candidate. He focused on work for the CPGB over the next few years; when most of the leadership of the party was imprisoned before the

UK general strike The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British governme ...

, he served as an acting member of its organisation bureau. That year, he stood for the general secretaryship of the ETU, but lost to

Jimmy Rowan James Rowan (7 October 1871 – 5 January 1944)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995'' was a British trade union leader. Born in Rochdale,''The Labour Who's Who'' (1924), p.146 Rowan bega ...

by 4067 votes to 730. In a surprise change of tactic, the CPGB stood Vaughan in Manchester Platting at the 1929 general election, where he took only 1.0% of the vote. He stood once more in Bethnal Green South West in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, falling to third with 17.4% of the votes cast. Vaughan thereafter focused on activism in the ETU. However, he was unable to find work in the industry and spent long periods unemployed. In 1938, his union membership was removed on the grounds that he had not worked in the industry for twelve years.John Lloyd, ''Light and Liberty: the history of the EETPU'', p.236 He died the same year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Joe 1878 births 1938 deaths British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain councillors Members of Bethnal Green Metropolitan Borough Council Mayors of places in Greater London Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Liberal Party (UK) politicians