Patrick Charles Webb (30 November 1884 – 23 March 1950) was a New Zealand trade unionist and politician.
Early life
Webb was born in
Rutherglen
Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...
, a small town in the
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n state of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. His father, George Webb, was a
miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
, and Paddy Webb eventually worked in the mines himself. He quickly became active in the mining unions, becoming head of the local Amalgamated Miners' Association branch by 1904. During this time, he met
Michael Joseph Savage
Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940.
Savage was born in the Colon ...
, who would eventually become the first
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017.
The prime minister (inform ...
.
As a result of his involvement in
strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
, Webb was
blacklist
Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
ed, and in 1905, he moved to New Zealand to seek work. After briefly living in Dunedin, he moved to the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
, working in mines first on the
Denniston plateau and then at
Runanga. Webb became involved with the
New Zealand Socialist Party
The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it neverthe ...
, and was an advocate for socialist ideals. Working in the Runanga mine, Webb was somewhat sheltered from repercussions he would otherwise have suffered – the Runanga mine was state-owned, and the governing
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 ...
was more tolerant of his agitation than private interests were. Webb scored a considerable victory when he organised a successful
strike in 1908 at a mine in
Blackball, and became prominent in the labour movement nationally.
Early political career
Webb was one of the more radical figures in the unions. Many of the older leaders continued to support the loose alliance between the labour movement and the Liberal Party, but Webb believed that only independent action could advance workers' interests. Webb was involved in founding the radical
New Zealand Federation of Labour
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; mi, Te Kauae Kaimahi) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand.
History
It was form ...
(the "Red Feds"), and in the
1911 election, he stood unsuccessfully in the
Grey electorate in Parliament. He then played a major role in the 1913 "
unity conference", in which the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
and the more moderate
United Labour Party merged to form the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
. The Grey electorate became vacant in 1913, and he was nominated as the Social Democrat candidate. In the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
he was elected on the second ballot with Liberal Party support, and in the
1914 general election, he was re-elected.
In 1916, the Social Democrats merged with the remnants of the United Labour Party that had resisted the previous merger, forming the modern
Labour Party.
Jailed
In
World War I
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 ...
, Webb became a prominent critic of
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, and in April 1917, he was briefly jailed on charges of sedition. In October that year, Webb was selected for military service himself, but refused to comply. In order to seek a public mandate for his decision, he resigned from his seat in Parliament, and challenged the government to fight the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on the issue. The government refused, and Webb was returned to Parliament unopposed.
Webb was subsequently offered a non-combat role, but again refused. He was then sentenced to two years hard labour, and was barred from political office for ten years. In 1918, his vacant seat in Parliament was won in a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
by
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
, also a member of the Labour Party.
After completing his sentence (spent planting trees), Webb returned to mining. He eventually established a
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
coal depot in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
. This brought him into conflict with certain radical members of the labour movement, who believed that the cooperative structure undermined unionism, since in a cooperative corporation (where the workers are also the owners), there is no need for workers to organise against the owners.
Return to politics
In the
1932 Motueka by-election, Webb attempted to return to Parliament, but was defeated by
Keith Holyoake
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...
. The following year, the death of
Harry Holland
Henry Edmund Holland (10 June 1868 – 8 October 1933) was an Australian-born newspaper owner, politician and unionist who relocated to New Zealand. He was the second leader of the New Zealand Labour Party.
Early life
Holland was born at G ...
(who had won Webb's old seat in 1918, and who now represented Buller) resulted in another
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
. Although Webb's nomination was opposed by radical members of the union movement, Webb was re-elected to Parliament, for
Buller.
In 1935, he was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.
When the Labour Party won the
1935 general election, Webb was appointed to
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
by Michael Joseph Savage, his old friend from the mines in Australia. He was given the position of Minister of Mines, a role in which he pressed for the nationalisation of the mining industry. Gradually, assisted by the heightened demand for coal during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Webb oversaw the purchase of many major operations. During this slow process, Webb had to contend not only with opponents of nationalisation but with radicals who demanded the immediate nationalisation of the entire industry.
Webb had a reputation as Parliament's Lothario, and in mid-1939 he was being pursued by a woman for breach of promise to marry; the Hon
Mark Fagan
Mark Anthony Fagan (17 November 1873 – 31 December 1947) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and a union secretary. He was Speaker of the Legislative Council from 1939 until his death.
Biography Early life
Fagan was born at G ...
got
Colin Scrimgeour
The Reverend Colin Graham Scrimgeour (30 January 1903 – 16 January 1987), also known as Uncle Scrim or Scrim, was a New Zealand Methodist Minister and broadcaster.
Biography Life and ministry
Born in Wairoa, Hawke's Bay, he entered the Metho ...
then the head of commercial broadcasting to give her a job with radio station 1ZB in Auckland.
In 1946, Webb finally retired from politics. He died in Christchurch on 23 March 1950, and was buried at
Bromley Cemetery
Bromley Cemetery is a cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It occupies approximately 10 hectares to the east of the city centre, on the corner of Keighleys Road and Linwood Avenue. The Christchurch City Council maintains and administers the ce ...
.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Paddy
1884 births
1950 deaths
Australian miners
Burials at Bromley Cemetery
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
New Zealand coal miners
Australian emigrants to New Zealand
New Zealand Socialist Party politicians
New Zealand trade unionists
Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) MPs
People from Victoria (Australia)
New Zealand conscientious objectors
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election
New Zealand politicians convicted of crimes
New Zealand anti–World War I activists