Robinson Graham (1878 – 13 May 1953) 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 in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, Graham became a weaver and was active in the Burnley Weavers' Association, becoming its assistant secretary in 1911 and serving for many years. He was also active in
Labour Party, for whom he stood in the
1920 Nelson and Colne by-election.
["Mr. Robinson Graham, M.P., and his party", '']Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 5 December 1921 He won the seat,
[Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament'', vol.3, p.133] but fell out with the
United Textile Factory Workers' Association
The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975.
Objectives
The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in polit ...
, which was sponsoring his candidacy, and the Labour Party leadership, and was pressured into standing down at the
1922 general election.
He concentrated on his trade union office; in 1941, he became secretary of the Burnley Weavers, serving until 1947.
He died on 13 May 1953.
''Barnoldswick & Earby Times''
Friday 16 October 1953
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Robinson
1878 births
1953 deaths
English trade unionists
Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Burnley
United Textile Factory Workers' Association-sponsored MPs
UK MPs 1918–1922