John Arnott (1871 – 20 February 1942) was a British politician. Born in

Kincardine-on-Forth Kincardine ( ; gd, Cinn Chàrdainn) or Kincardine-on-Forth is a small town on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. The town was given the status of a burgh of barony in 1663. It was at one time a reasonably prosperous mi ...

, Arnott worked as a blacksmith. He became involved in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

movement studied at

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

. He also became active in the Independent Labour Party and was elected to

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

.Michael Stenton and Stephen Leeds, ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament'', vol.3, p.10 He led the Labour group on the council from 1917 to 1920, and again from 1922 until 1925. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party, and at the 1918 general election, Arnott stood for it in

Leeds West Leeds West is a borough constituency in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of elect ...

, but was not elected. He then stood in Kingston upon Hull South West repeatedly, losing in

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 ...

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. In 1925, he was chosen as

Lord Mayor of Leeds The Lord Mayor of Leeds (until 1897 known as the Mayor of Leeds) is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council. By charter from Charles I of England, King Charles I in 1626, the leader of the gov ...

. He finally won the Hull South West seat at the 1929 general election, and although his candidacy was sponsored by the ILP, he was no longer playing any part in the party, leading him to leave it when it disaffiliated from the Labour Party.Matthew Worley, ''Labour Inside the Gate'', p.126 Arnott lost his seat at the 1931 general election, and failed to win it back in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnott, John 1871 births 1942 deaths Councillors in Leeds Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Lord Mayors of Leeds People from Kincardine, Fife UK MPs 1929–1931