John Jagger (1 October 1872 – 9 July 1942) was a British

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 Employee ben ...

and Labour Party politician. After a career in business and trade union leadership, he won a seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in 1935, and held it until his death in a road accident.

Career

Jagger spent the early part of his career in business, and travelled for four years as a business manager in India, China and Burma. He then became a departmental manager in co-operative stores. He was chairman of the

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Trades and Labour Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

, and became president of the

Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees The Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees (AUCE) was a trade union representing retail and related staff of co-operative businesses in the United Kingdom. The union was founded in 1891 at a meeting in Romiley and was originally named the Ma ...

, of which he was the chief founder. In 1921 he became general president of the

National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers The National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers (NUDAW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Amalgamated Union of Co-operative Employees merged with the National Union of Warehouse and ...

, and held that post until he entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1935. At the 1935 general election, he was elected as the

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 Manchester Clayton, defeating the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

William Flanagan William Flanagan may refer to: * William Flanagan (composer) (1923–1969), American composer * William Flanagan (American football) (1901–1975), professional football player * William Flanagan (politician) (1871–1944), British Member of Parli ...

. The seat had been won by Flanagan in

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 ...

after it had been held by Labour since

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 ...

. In December 1935 he was a speaker at the Congress of Peace and Friendship with Russia, held in

Friends House Friends House is a multi-use building at 173 Euston Road in Euston, central London, that houses the central offices of British Quakers. The building is also the principal venue for North West London Meeting and the Britain Yearly Meeting The ...

on the

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...

in London. In July 1936, he was one eleven MPs who sent a telegram to

Prime Minister of Spain The prime minister of Spain, officially president of the Government ( es, link=no, Presidente del Gobierno), is the head of government of Spain. The office was established in its current form by the Constitution of 1978 and it was first regula ...

expressing their "admiration of the heroic fight being put up by the Spanish people against the attack of Fascists". The MPs pledged themselves "to do everything in our power to rally behind your struggle the whole British people". In 1938, he was one of the Labour MPs who visited Spain during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In May 1940, when

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Mini ...

became

Minister of Supply The Minister of Supply was the minister in the British Government responsible for the Ministry of Supply, which existed to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. The position was campaigned for by many sceptics of the for ...

in the wartime coalition government, Jagger was appointed as his

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

(PPS). Morrison was promoted to

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

in October 1940, and Jagger remained his PPS in the new post.

Death

In July 1942, the 69-year-old Jagger had been staying in a cottage in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

in Buckinghamshire. On 9 July he was riding his

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

to Beaconsfield railway station when he collided with a car, and was killed instantly. His death caused a by-election in Manchester Clayton, when the seat was held for Labour by

Harry Thorneycroft Harry Thorneycroft (21 February 1892 – 7 March 1956) was a British hairdresser and Labour Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1942 to 1955. He was educated at an elementary school, and began work in a hairdresser's shop at th ...

Family

Jagger married Martha Southern in 1899, and they had two sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jagger, John 1872 births 1942 deaths British trade union leaders Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers-sponsored MPs UK MPs 1935–1945 Motorcycle road incident deaths Presidents of British trade unions Road incident deaths in England