John Johnson (1850 – 29 December 1910) was a British trade unionist and
Lib-Lab politician.
Trade Unionist
He worked in the mining industry. In 1890 he became Treasurer of the
Durham Miners' Association
The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford becam ...
and then in 1897 their Financial Secretary.
Politician
In 1904, following the death of the
Gateshead Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
MP,
William Allan, Johnson, though a member of 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 ...
, was selected as Liberal candidate to defend the predominantly mining seat at a by-election. He won the election and joined the
Liberal-Labour trade union group, as a miners union sponsored MP.
In 1906 he was re-elected at the
General Election.
In 1909, when the
Miners Federation of Great Britain
The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...
affiliated to the
Labour party he was required to cross the floor to sit as a Labour MP. He was also required to seek re-election at the next General election as a Labour candidate.
In 1910, he contested the
January General Election as a Labour candidate but was opposed by a Liberal candidate,
Harold Elverston. Johnson was a supporter of the ''Miners Eight Hours Act'', which brought him opposition from many miners in Gateshead. Johnson finished in third place as the Liberals re-gained the seat.
He died in December 1910 at the age of 60 in Durham, England.
John Johnson - LifeStory
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John
British trade unionists
1850 births
1910 deaths
Independent Labour Party MPs
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Gateshead
Politicians from Tyne and Wear
Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs 1906–1910