Peter Francis Curran (28 March 1860 – 14 February 1910) 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, ...

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

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Born Patrick Francis Curran in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, to a

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family of

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origin, Curran became known as "Pete" at an early age. He left school at the age of eleven, training as a blacksmith and working at a steel plant.''The Reformers' Year Book: 1908'', p.231Curran, Peter Francis
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' Always interested in politics, he joined the

Irish Land League The Irish National Land League (Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmer ...

, but was impressed by

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

's speeches, and transferred to the

Scottish Land Restoration League The Scottish Land Restoration League was a Georgism, Georgist political party. History In the 1880s, enclosure was still in process in the Scottish Highlands, and resistance to it often received support from radicals around Britain and Ireland. ...

in 1880. He married in 1881, and around this time also joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF). Late in the 1880s, Curran moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to work at the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

. He worked with

Will Thorne William James Thorne CBE (4 October 1857 – 2 January 1946) was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. Early years Thorne was born in Hockley, Birmingham, on 8 October 1857. His father and other ...

to found the

National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) was an early general union in the United Kingdom, the most important general union of its era. History The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers by Will ...

, and in 1889, he became the union's full-time secretary for the West of England. He was convicted of intimidation during a dispute in

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, but this was overturned in the

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in the famous case ''Curran v. Treleaven''. With newfound fame, he moved back to London to take up the post of national organiser of the gasworkers' union. While remaining a member of the SDF, Curran joined the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

and was a founder member of 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 ...

(ILP). He was a member of the ILP's

National Administrative Council The National Administrative Council (NAC) was the executive council of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), a British socialist party which was active from 1893 until 1975. Creation The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was founded at a conference in ...

from 1893 to 1898, and stood for the party in Barrow at the 1895 general election, but won only 6.9% of the votes cast. His next contest was the 1897 Barnsley by-election, where he took just over 1,000 votes, only 9.7% of the total, and was attacked by

Ben Pickard Benjamin Pickard, usually Ben Pickard (26 or 28 February 1842 – 3 February 1904), was a British coal miner, trade unionist and Lib–Lab politician. Early life and family Pickard was born in Kippax near Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, General Secretary of the

Yorkshire Miners' Association The Yorkshire Miners' Association was a British trade union. It is now an integral part of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). History The union was founded in 1881 with the merger of the South Yorkshire Miners' Association, and the ...

, for his socialist politics, and with claims that he had abandoned his wife. Curran married his second wife, Marian Barry, a prominent women's labour activist, by 1898, and the couple had two sons and two daughters. Around this time, the couple were active opponents of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, and Curran resigned from the Fabian Society in protest at its support for the conflict. In 1899, Curran was a founder of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) serving as its first chairman. Although he was well known for his passionate speech at

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC) meetings, he was privately dismissive of its leadership, and hoped that the GFTU would provide a way for unions to bypass and possibly supersede it. He was also prominent in the formation of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), forerunner of the Labour Party, which he saw as sharing the same aims as the GFTU. In 1905, he arranged the creation of the Joint Board of the TUC, GFTU and LRC, and this marked the period in which the GFTU enjoyed the greatest influence. Curran stood for the LRC in

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

at the 1906 general election. Although he was narrowly defeated in a contest against the sitting

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 ...

MP, he stood again at the 1907 Jarrow by-election. On this occasion, he also faced Unionist Party and

Irish Nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

opposition, and these candidates took enough of the Liberal vote that he won the seat.Stephen Lowrey,
Pete Curran and the Jarrow Parliamentary By-Election of 1907
By this time, Curran was in poor health, principally due to his drinking. He was arrested and fined in 1909 for being drunk and incapable, and he developed

cirrhosis of the liver Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. He lost his seat in another close contest at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

, and died shortly afterwards, aged 49.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Pete 1860 births 1910 deaths Georgists Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from Glasgow Presidents of the General Federation of Trade Unions (UK) Social Democratic Federation members UK MPs 1906–1910 Trade unionists from Glasgow