John Bruce Glasier (25 March 1859 – 4 June 1920) was a Scottish
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 e ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, associated mainly with the
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
.
He was opposed to the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Biography
Glasier was 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 ...
as John Bruce, but grew up near
Newton Ayr. After the death of his father in 1870, he returned to Glasgow and followed his mother in adding the additional name of "Glasier", thereafter using Bruce as his middle name. He became involved with the
Irish Land League
The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farme ...
's activities in Scotland, and in 1884 was a founder member of 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 ...
, while also joining the
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...
(SDF). He joined the
Socialist League split from the SDF, becoming the secretary of its Glasgow branch until 1889. In 1893, he joined the
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
(ILP).
In that year he married
Katherine St John Conway.
Glasier soon became one of the four main ILP leaders, and the editor of ''ILP News'', succeeding
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908.
Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...
as chairman of the party in 1900 and holding the post for three years. In 1903, he was elected to
Chapel-en-le-Frith
Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England.
It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (belo ...
parish council.
In 1905, Glasier became the editor of ''
Labour Leader
The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again.
19th century
The origins of the ...
'', but left the post in 1909 and resigned from the ILP National Council, along with Hardie,
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
and
Philip Snowden
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...
. The four were re-elected in 1910 and Glasier remained on the council until 1919. He opposed the First World War. Although struck by cancer in 1915, he continued to write until his death in 1920.
Works
*''William Morris and the Early Days of the Socialist Movement''
References
Further reading
*
Laurence Thompson
Laurence G. Thompson (1920 - July 10, 2005) was a World War II veteran, sinologist, classical violinist and professor emeritus of East Asian languages and cultures at the University of Southern California.
Biography
Thompson was born in 1920 ...
, ''The Enthusiasts: A Biography of John and Katharine Bruce Glasier'' (London: Victor Gollancz, 1971)
*Wilfrid Whiteley, ed., ''J. Bruce Glasier: A Memorial'' (Manchester, England: National Labour Press, n. d.
920
__NOTOC__
Year 920 ( CMXX) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* December 17 – Romanos I has himself crowned co-emperor of the Byza ...
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasier, John Bruce
1859 births
1920 deaths
Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members
Scottish politicians
Scottish socialists
Social Democratic Federation members
Socialist League (UK, 1885) members
Politicians from Glasgow
People from Ayr