John Battersby (1839–1922) was a Scottish

trade unionist 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 (s ...

and politician. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Battersby completed an apprenticeship as a compositor with the '' Glasgow Courier'' newspaper. He joined the

Scottish Typographical Association Scottish Typographical Association was a labour union representing typesetter Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems represent ...

, and in 1874 he was elected as its secretary, serving until 1887, during which time he led a major reorganisation of the society. He became known for his integrity, and was nicknamed "Honest John". As leader of the association, Battersby represented it to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

(TUC). When the TUC was held in Glasgow, in 1875, he was elected as its

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

. In his address to the conference, he argued that the TUC should assist in obtaining a Factory Act regulating conditions of work in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Following the conference, he served two terms on the

Parliamentary Committee of the TUC A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

. Battersby was also active on the

Glasgow Trades Council {{Use British English, date=January 2018 Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland. The trades council was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,Records of Glasgow District ...

, and when its president, Andrew Boa, emigrated to Australia, he won the post. He joined the

Scottish Land Restoration League The Scottish Land Restoration League was a Georgist political party. History In the 1880s, enclosure was still in process in the Scottish Highlands, and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. Branches ...

in 1884, and was successful in proposing that the trades council should campaign for land reform, but did not convince it to affiliate to the league. Battersby was also active in the Liberal-Labour movement. In 1890, with the backing of the trades council, he was elected to Glasgow Town Council in

Hutchesontown Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central ward under Glasgow C ...

. He remained a supporter of the labour movement; in 1902, when he was chair of the council's Cleansing Committee, workers went on strike, and Battersby supported them. For much of this time, the council was officially non-party political, but Battersby was long identified with 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, in 1908, he was expelled from his local liberal association for having "

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

leanings". Battersby remained on the council for more than thirty years, and by his retirement in 1919 was its longest-serving councillor. On his retirement, he was presented with a bronze bust of himself, which he donate to the

Glasgow Art Gallery Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...

. He died three years later, at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battersby, John 1839 births 1922 deaths Councillors in Glasgow British trade union leaders Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Glasgow Presidents of the Trades Union Congress