Percy Daines (29 November 1902 – 3 March 1957) was a British insurance agent and politician. He served as a

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 ...

and

Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom, supporting co-operative values and principles. Established in 1917, the Co-operative Party was founded by co-operative societies to campaign politically for the fair ...

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 o ...

for East Ham North from the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgarian ...

until his death, and was on the national committee of the Co-operative Party. He was known for his opposition to Communism, and was described as "one of the most powerful back-benchers in the Labour Party".

Charles Pannell Thomas Charles Pannell, Baron Pannell, PC (10 September 1902 – 23 March 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. He entered local politics in the outer London suburbs: he was a member of Walthamstow Borough Council from 1929 to 1936 a ...

, "Mr. Percy Daines" (letter), ''The Times'', 13 March 1957, p. 13.

Insurance agent

Daines' early career was spent as a

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

on the railways. In 1921Speaking 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. T ...

on 21 March 1946, Daines had declared he had 18 years of experience as an insurance agent; given that he left in 1939 to fight in the war, this statement also fixes the start of his occupation. he became an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

official working for the

Co-operative Insurance Society Co-op Insurance is the trading name of CIS General Insurance, a general insurance company, which is part of the Co-operative Group, based in Manchester, United Kingdom. Co-op Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary incorporated in 2017, is ...

; as such he was a member of both the

National Union of Railwaymen The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. The largest railway workers' union in the country, it was influential in the national trade union movement. History The NUR was an industrial union ...

and the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers.M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981), p. 81. Daines married his wife Lilian in 1923."Decree Nisi against Mr. Percy Daines", ''The Times'', 18 October 1951, p. 2. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Daines served with the Royal Engineers."Who Was Who", A & C Black. He also became a member of Enfield Urban District Council."The Times House of Commons, 1945", p. 50. His wife was also a councillor in Enfield and later became chairman of the council."The Times House of Commons, 1950", p. 105.

East Ham North

He was chosen as Labour Party candidate for East Ham North for the

, and was sponsored by the

which was the political wing of the Co-operative movement and in alliance with the Labour Party. The constituency was held by the Conservatives with a narrow majority of 533, but in the circumstances of the election Daines had no difficulty in gaining the seat with a majority of 10,559. Daines spoke in a censure debate in December 1945, arguing that workers had shown unity during the war and would show it in peace if they had a social motive instead of a profit motive."Parliament", ''The Times'', 7 December 1945, p. 7. He often contributed to debates on insurance issues, using his experience as an agent. In July 1946 he spoke in a debate on the introduction of bread rationing, claiming that the Master Bakers' Association was only opposing out of concern for their own profits."Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 July 1946, p. 8.

Assistant Whip

In December 1946, Daines was appointed an Assistant Whip."Royal Household Appointments", ''The Times'', 10 December 1946, p. 4. This was an unpaid position,"Whitaker's Almanack, 1948", p. 421. and did not prevent him from speaking in the House of Commons. He was a loyal supporter of a controversial decision to reduce the period of the

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the armed forces from 18 months to 12, in a speech in April 1947."Parliament", ''The Times'', 7 April 1947, p. 4. However, he resigned his post as Assistant Whip just before the summer recess of that year."Labour Party and Crisis", ''The Times'', 30 July 1947, p. 4. He remained loyal to the government when a fellow Labour MP opposed an order which allowed the Government to choose which jobs the unemployed should take; he look forward to further orders "dealing with '' rentiers'' and spivs"."Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 November 1947, p. 2.

Capital punishment

On foreign policy, Daines joined a group of left-wing Labour MPs in opposing the ending of the British mandate in Palestine without creating independent Jewish and Arab states in line with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

partition plan."Palestine Bill Debate", ''The Times'', 8 March 1948, p. 4. He supported a moratorium on

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, and broke the whip to insist on disagreement with the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

after the Government conceded to Lords opposition;"Labour opponents", ''The Times'', 23 July 1948, p. 4. he was later to be a sponsor of

Sydney Silverman Samuel Sydney Silverman (8 October 1895 – 9 February 1968) was a British Labour politician and vocal opponent of capital punishment. Early life Silverman was born in poverty to a migrant Jewish parents from Jassy, Romania. His father was a ...

's bill to abolish the death penalty."Allowances Unclaimed By Over 100 M.P.s", ''The Times'', 2 February 1956, p. 4. Daines was a witness in a 1948 libel action brought by

Bessie Braddock Elizabeth Margaret Braddock (née Bamber; 24 September 1899 – 13 November 1970) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Liverpool Exchange division from 1945 to 1970. She was a ...

over a story in the ''Bolton Evening News'' claiming she had "danced a jig on the floor of the House" in "a sorry degradation of democratic government"; he said that Braddock appeared to cross the floor of the House reluctantly (Braddock lost the case). He asserted that he was speaking for the Co-operative movement in April 1949 when he opposed the Agricultural Marketing Bill, which he described as '

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

- syndicalist'."Parliament", ''The Times'', 5 April 1949, p. 2. Daines supported an amendment to remove the veto of the

Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...

on eventual reunification of Ireland in May 1949, against the Government whip. Philip Norton, "Dissension in the House of Commons 1945-74" (Macmillan, 1975), p. 77.

Dock strike

With a constituency near the docks, Daines was brought into the 1949 unofficial dock strike. He denounced the strike as the product of a "wicked conspiracy cleverly rigged up", making it clear that the conspiracy was the work of the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 14 July 1949, p. 2. A week later he named the Communist secretary of the

stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

's union as using the power of the strike to further the claims of the Communist-controlled

Canadian Seamen's Union The Canadian Seaman's Union was a trade union in Canada which organized among sailors. Affiliated with the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, it was established in 1936 and gained prominence during World War II. After the war, it was red-baiting, ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 22 July 1949, p. 2.

Resale price maintenance

In June 1950, Daines seconded a motion calling for an end to

resale price maintenance Resale price maintenance (RPM) or, occasionally, retail price maintenance is the practice whereby a manufacturer and its distributors agree that the distributors will sell the manufacturer's product at certain prices (resale price maintenance), a ...

, arguing that price maintenance stopped the consumer benefiting from reduced production."Parliament", ''The Times'', 17 June 1950, p. 9. He was an early supporter of reform of Parliamentary hours, speaking in July 1951 of how "fantastic and stupid" it was to discuss essential legislation at 7'o'clock in the morning."Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 July 1951, p. 4. He faced a determined opponent at the 1951 election in the shape of Dundas Hamilton who had been an amateur boxer and wore boxing gloves to his adoption meeting."Mr. Attlee's Own Campaign", ''The Times'', 15 October 1951, p. 2. However, Daines was re-elected with his majority reduced to 7,359."The Times House of Commons, 1951", p. 60. In October 1952 he had some negative publicity when his wife obtained a

decree nisi A decree nisi or rule nisi () is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met. Unless the condition is met, the ruling becomes a decree absolute (rule absolute), and is binding. Typically, the condi ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

against him on grounds of his misconduct.

Foreign policy

At the 1953 Co-operative Party congress, Daines warned delegates against getting themselves into a "Munich mentality" which was thought to have helped persuade the congress to reject a motion calling for the abolition of national service."Co-Operatives' Land Policy", ''The Times'', 6 April 1953, p. 4. He spoke in a foreign policy debate in May 1953 regretting the tendency to anti-Americanism in the Labour Party, and said that the death of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

had not changed the policy of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 12 May 1953, p. 3. Daines was incensed when a Ministry of Defence booklet was published in February 1955 which revealed that British Communists had visited

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

camps during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and attempted to convert British troops to communism. He urged their prosecution, observing that men had been hanged for lesser crimes after the Second World War."Parliament", ''The Times'', 8 March 1955, p. 11.

Kim Philby

When fellow Labour MP

Marcus Lipton Marcus Lipton CBE (29 October 190022 February 1978) was a British Labour Party politician. Education The son of Benjamin and Mary Lipton of Sunderland, Marcus Lipton was educated at Hudson Road Council School and Bede Grammar School in the ...

used Parliamentary privilege to name

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British secr ...

as the 'third man' in the spy ring involving

Guy Burgess Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess (16 April 1911 – 30 August 1963) was a British diplomat and Soviet agent, and a member of the Cambridge Five spy ring that operated from the mid-1930s to the early years of the Cold War era. His defection in 1951 ...

and Donald Maclean, Daines was concerned. He intervened on a speech by Lipton in the House of Commons on 7 November 1955 to observe that what Lipton had done was "tantamount to a charge against that gentleman" and ask him for the source of his information. Lipton declined to respond, and Daines then raised a point of order insisting that Philby was unable to defend himself and that Lipton "owes it to the House to give the source of his information, or should withdraw the charge"."Parliament", ''The Times'', 8 November 1955, p. 5.

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

, House of Commons 5th series, vol. 545, col. 1582.

Suez

Despite his opposition to the Soviet Union, Daines felt that the invasion of Suez was stopped by the ascendancy of the Soviets in the Middle East. He called on Prime Minister Anthony Eden to resign as he was discredited in America."Parliament", ''The Times'', 14 November 1956, p. 5. Daines died suddenly in hospital at

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

in March 1957, aged 54.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daines, Percy 1902 births 1957 deaths Councillors in Greater London Labour Co-operative MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Royal Engineers soldiers British Army personnel of World War II