Joseph Gibbins, JP (1888 – 26 August 1965) was a British

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 ( ...

ist and Labour Party politician.

Early life

Joseph Gibbins was born in the Toxteth Park district of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in early 1888. He was educated at evening classes at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. Gibbins married Sarah Beatrice Hugill at Princes Park Methodist Church, Liverpool in 1912, and they had two sons and two daughters. He served with the

RNR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

during 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 ...

, and afterwards became Secretary of the Liverpool Boilermakers' Union.

Political records

Gibbins unsuccessfully contested the West Toxteth division of Liverpool for Labour in the general elections of

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, losing by only 139 votes on the latter occasion. Shortly after the 1923 election, the Labour party formed its first government, taking office on 22 January 1924. In April 1924, the long-serving but low-profile Unionist

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for West Toxteth, Sir Robert Paterson Houston, Bt. retired. Joseph Gibbins was once again selected to fight the seat for Labour. He was 36 years old. Liverpool was a notoriously sectarian city, divided along

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

lines. The Conservative city-boss,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

the

Rt Hon ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

. Sir

Archibald Salvidge Sir Archibald Tutton James Salvidge (5 August 1863 – 11 December 1928) was an English politician, most notable for securing the political dominance of the Conservative Party in Liverpool through the use of the Working Men's Conservative ...

had built a career in stoking these divisions. As early as 1907, at the count for the Liverpool Kirkdale by-election,

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 ...

had remarked to him bitterly

It is astonishing how in Liverpool, whatever the issue appears to be at the start, you always manage to mobilise the full force of
Orangeism The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...
. We will never do any good here until that power is broken...''Salvidge of Liverpool; by Stanley Salvidge (Hodder & Stoughton, 1934), page 90.''

And so it was in West Toxteth in 1924. To Salvidge and his candidate, Thomas White, the issue was religion and specifically, denouncement of any attempt to adjust the boundaries of the newly created

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The

Boundary Commission (Ireland) The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the Irish War of Independence, provided for such a ...

was then in the early stage of its report. The by-election was notable in that it saw

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

's first speech to a Conservative meeting in over 20 years, when he addressed the Liverpool Conservative Workingman's Association on 7 May 1924. The Liberals did not put forward a candidate and advised their supporters to vote Labour. On 22 May 1924 Joseph Gibbins, a non-sectarian Protestant, triumphed for Labour, with a majority of 2,471 over the Conservative. The result was exceptional, as it remains the only occasion that a Labour government has gained a seat from the Opposition in an electoral contest.¹ Gibbins held the seat by 379 votes in the 1924 general election, and comfortably in the 1929 general election, but was defeated by the Conservative

Clyde Tabor Wilson Clyde Tabor Wilson (21 September 1889 – 13 November 1971) was a British Conservative Party politician. Born in Birkenhead on Merseyside, he moved to London to study law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1913. From 1925 to 1935 h ...

in the landslide defeat of

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 ...

. He had also become a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Liverpool in 1924. However, West Toxteth and Joseph Gibbins were not yet finished with each other. In early 1935, Wilson resigned to take up a position as Metropolitan Police Magistrate. Joseph Gibbins was again selected as by-election candidate, and on Tuesday 16 July 1935 he easily regained the seat on a swing of 19%. Gibbins thus went into the record books for a second time, as the only person to gain the same seat twice in two different by-elections. Joseph Gibbins easily held the seat in the 1935 general election -against

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

- and in the 1945 general election. However, boundary changes merged the seat into a new

Toxteth Toxteth is an inner-city area of Liverpool in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside. Toxteth is located to the south of Liverpool city centre, bordered by Aigburth, Canning, Dingle, and Edge Hill. The area w ...

constituency for the 1950 general election. Gibbins gamely contested the new seat, but lost by 2,620 votes to the Conservative

Reginald Bevins John Reginald Bevins (20 August 1908 – 16 November 1996) was a British Conservative politician who served as a Liverpool Member of Parliament (MP) for fourteen years. He served in the governments of the 1950s and 1960s, playing an important r ...

. He had fought 10 parliamentary elections, a record for the City of Liverpool. He died in 1965, aged 77.

Notes

¹ During the second Labour government in 1929 two seats, Preston and Liverpool Scotland, were gained by Labour without contest.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbins, Joseph 1888 births 1965 deaths English justices of the peace GMB (trade union)-sponsored MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool constituencies Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 United Society of Boilermakers-sponsored MPs Politicians from Liverpool Councillors in Liverpool

Early life

Political records

Notes

See also

References

External links