Richard William Briginshaw, Baron Briginshaw (15 May 1908 – 26 March 1992) was a British trade union leader and politician. Born in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

to a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

family, Briginshaw left school at the age of fourteen to become a printer's devil. While his own family was relatively well off, he was exposed to the

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

of Brixton at the time, and his experiences of knowing children at school without shoes, and often without food, was to colour his political views for the rest of his life. During his early career, Briginshaw worked as a machine hand for many different newspapers, but also attended night school, studying law and economics and eventually gaining a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

from University College London. He also became active in the trade union movement, and in 1938 became Assistant secretary of the London branch of the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants (NATSOPA). However, he was dismissed from his union post because of his

communist 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 ...

leanings - he was a member of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

and an organiser for the Printers' Anti-Fascist Movement, which the union's leadership regarded as a communist front. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Briginshaw joined the Army in 1941 and served in India, the Middle East and Western Europe. He impressed his superiors and was offered a commission, but turned it down, preferring to remain an ordinary soldier. Following the end of the war, Briginshaw left the communist movement and joined the Labour Party. While he was firmly on the

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right * L ...

of the party, he now enjoyed a rapid rise in his trade union, and in 1951 he became

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of NATSOPA; a post he would hold for the next twenty-three years. As a trade union leader, Briginshaw was seen as an uncompromising negotiator and a strong advocate for his members. He was also a fierce opponent of the

incomes policies Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually seeking to establish wages and prices below free market level. Incomes policies have often been resorted to ...

which both Labour and Conservative governments sought to introduce. However, he also foresaw the changes in printing technology which would eventually transform the newspaper industry and weaken the trade unions. To counter this he pushed for the industry's fragmented trade unions to amalgamate into one large union with mixed success; he merged his trade union with the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers in 1966 to form the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades, but the two sections split shortly afterwards and were not reunited until after his retirement. His political alliances were often controversial; when the Conservative-supporting Rupert Murdoch and the Labour-supporting Robert Maxwell were vying for control of '' The Sun'' newspaper, he angered other union leaders by supporting Murdoch, who he believed would deliver better wages and job security for his members. He was a strong opponent of Britain's membership of the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

, denouncing the day Britain joined as "the blackest day in the calendar of tshistory" After his retirement in 1973, Briginshaw surprised many observers by accepting a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

age from

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, joining the House of Lords and taking the title Baron Briginshaw, of

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in Greater London, in January 1975. The following year he published a pamphlet called ''Abolish the House of Lords'', denouncing it as "a worthless anachronism".''The Independent'', 31 May 1992 He died in 1992 in Croydon of a perforated

duodenal ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...

and was survived by six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briginshaw, Richard William 1908 births 1992 deaths British trade union leaders Communist Party of Great Britain members Labour Party (UK) life peers British Army soldiers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of University College London People from Brixton Deaths from ulcers Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress Life peers created by Elizabeth II