Robert Smillie (17 March 1857 – 16 February 1940) was a Scottish trade unionist and
Labour Party politician. He was a leader of the coal miners, and played a central role in moving support from the miners away from the
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.
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to the Labour Party. He had a firm commitment to socialism as an ideal, and militancy as a tactic.
Early life
Born in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, the second son of John Smillie, a
Scottish crofter. Until his adult years, he spelt his name as "Smellie"; including on his wedding certificate in 1878. During his early years, he was orphaned and brought up by his grandmother who taught him how to read and write. By the age of nine, he was working as an errand boy and by the age of eleven, he was working at a spinning mill. He was able to obtain some books by authors such as
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
,
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
and
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, but his education suffered as he had to provide income for the family.
By the age of fifteen, he had left Ireland for
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 ...
, where he found employment at a brass foundry, but left for the Mines of
Larkhall
Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France.
Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...
; and later became the Leader of British mineworkers. He was first a hand-pumper at the Sumerlee Colliery, which involved working twelve hours a day with no human contact. He married Ann Hamilton on 31 December 1878, and began to educate himself in the evenings; where he worked his way up through the ranks to become the colliery
checkweighman.
Early career
Smillie became secretary of the Larkhall Miners' Association in 1885 after presiding over a mass meeting, which ended in its formation and when the county federation was formed, he became president in 1893. He became the President of the Scottish Miners' Federation in 1894. Employers in a number of districts demanded wage reductions, resulting in strikes. Following a special conference of the
Miners Federation of Great Britain
The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...
, a ballot was taken, and the strike that followed lasted from June until October 1894. Controversy arose between Smillie and Chisholm Robertson in 1900 led to a debate at
Glasgow Trades Council
{{Use British English, date=January 2018
Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland.
The trades council was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,Records of Glasgow District ...
, which Smillie won. Strikes left the Scottish miners in a greatly-weakened position, who suffered further wage cuts in 1895 and 1896. In 1897, less than 20% of the workers were organised.
[Wrigley (2004)]
A founder member of the
Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...
in 1888 and 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 ...
in 1893, Smillie was a close associate of
Keir Hardie
James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and served as its first parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908.
Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. ...
during their early careers and remained friends until Hardie's death in 1915.
He campaigned for Hardie in many of his election contests, including the first in 1888. Smillie stood for parliament on seven occasions between 1894 and 1910. Later, he could have had the nomination for winnable seats in Glasgow; but chose to remain with his work for the miners.
His early commitment to socialism was moderate, and Lib-Labs were predominant in the leadership, which clashed with the miners' political views. Nevertheless, Smillie's qualities of leadership brought him to the forefront of the miners' struggles, and with the growth of militancy amongst certain sections, opinion changed to his favour.
STUC
In 1899, Smillie compelled the Scottish mineowners to set up a conciliation board after much trouble, and he played an active part in setting up the
Scottish Trades Union Congress
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists.
The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh T ...
, which made him such an outstanding activist. At the first STUC meeting in 1897, he came second in the ballot for president, but at the first meeting of the committee he was appointed chairman. Eight out of eleven of the delegates were supporters of the ILP.
MFGB
By 1908, he resolved that the
Miners' Federation of Great Britain
The Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) was established after a meeting of local mining trade unions in Newport, Wales in 1888. The federation was formed to represent and co-ordinate the affairs of local and regional miners' unions in Engla ...
(MFGB) should affiliate to the Labour Party. By 1910, the group was the largest in organised labour. By 1912, he was elected vice-president of the MFGB and remained in the position until 1921. All the coalfields of Great Britain went on strike in 1912, and the
Triple Alliance was set up. In 1915, Smillie became president of the Triple Alliance. He fought to keep the miners outside the provisions of the
Munitions Act. In 1918, he resigned from the position of president of the Scottish Miners Federation. He vigorously condemned conscription and was the president of the National Council Against Conscription when it was founded, in 1915.
Meanwhile, Smillie had been trying to gain more than political as well as industrial action. His first attempt was in 1894, when he stood at the by-election at
Mid-Lanark, followed by
Glasgow Camlachie in 1895 as the ILP, 1901 by-election in Lanarkshire, 1906 as a Labour Candidate for
Paisley Cockersmouth and at Mid Lanark twice in 1910. All of the attempts were failures, but he eventually was elected in 1923 as the Member of Parliament for
Morpeth
Morpeth may refer to:
*Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia
** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales
* Morpeth, Ontario, Canada
* Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK
** Morpeth (UK ...
, but refused office in the
short-lived Labour government of 1924 due to his ill health. He sponsored young female member
Jennie Lee and his grandson travelled with her in the Spanish civil war and died in a communist gaol there whilst only 19 years old.
From 1922 to 1928, Smillie again presided the Scottish Miners' Federation until he resigned due to ill health.
Scottish National Committee
In 1919, Smillie served with
Joe Duncan,
David Kirkwood
David Kirkwood, 1st Baron Kirkwood, PC (8 July 1872 – 16 April 1955), was a Scottish politician, trade unionist and socialist activist from the East End of Glasgow, who was as a leading figure of the Red Clydeside era.
Biography
Kirkwood ...
,
Tom Johnston, Willie Graham, Neil MacLean,
James Maxton
James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a British left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...
,
John MacLean and Angus MacDonald on the Scottish National Committee which sought separate Scottish representation at the
Paris Peace Conference after the
First World War
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 ...
.
[Cairns, Gerard (2021), ''No Language! No Nation! The Life and Times of the Honourable Ruaraidh Erskine of Marr'', Rymour Books, Perth, ]
Death
He died at 82, followed by his wife two years later. They were survived by seven sons and two daughters.
Notes
Further reading
* Bellamy, J. M. and J. Saville, eds. ''Dictionary of labour biography'' (vol 3 1976)
* Loads, David, ed. ''Readers Guide to British History (2003)2: 1190–91, historiography
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smillie, Robert
1857 births
1940 deaths
Scottish trade unionists
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates
Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
Miners' Federation of Great Britain-sponsored MPs
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs 1924–1929
Scottish miners
Scottish Labour Party (1888) politicians
Vice Presidents of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)
Presidents of the National Union of Mineworkers (Great Britain)