Joseph Hayhurst (1864 – 13 June 1919) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

politician and

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 ( ...

leader. Born in

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...

, Hayhurst worked at the Manningham Mills in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, where he joined the Bradford and District Amalgamated Society of Dyers, Crabbers, Singers and Finishers. He took part in the major strike at the mills in 1890 and 1891, and, inspired by the labour movement, he was a founder member of the

Bradford Labour Union The Bradford Labour Union was a political party based in Bradford in England, which was an important forerunner of the Independent Labour Party. In late 1890 and early 1891, there was a major strike at the Manningham Mills in Bradford. Followi ...

. From 1893, Hayhurst was a delegate to the

Bradford Trades Council Bradford Trades Council brings together trade unionists in and around Bradford, in West Yorkshire in England. History The first Bradford Trades Council was founded in July 1867 by six local unions. They were inspired by the London tailors' stri ...

, and later in the year, he was elected as general secretary of his union, by now renamed as the Amalgamated Society of Dyers. Under his leadership, membership of the union grew from about 3,000 to well over 10,000. He favoured the amalgamation of all the dyers' unions in the country, but little progress to this end was made under his leadership.Arthur Marsh, Victoria Ryan and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.4, pp.400-401 Hayhurst stood for Bradford Town Council as a joint trades council-Labour Union candidate, and was the first to win election against both

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and

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 ...

opponents. He followed the Labour Union into 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 ...

, which in 1900 became a founding affiliate of the Labour Party. Hayhurst became an alderman, and the chair of the Labour Party group on the council. In 1918, he was elected as the first Labour Lord Mayor of Bradford, but he died in office, in June 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayhurst, Joseph 1864 births 1919 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions Labour Party (UK) councillors Mayors of Bradford Trade unionists from Bradford People from Lancaster, Lancashire