Thomas Russell Williams (1869 – 1926) was a British socialist politician. Williams grew up in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

and largely educated himself. He entered the textile industry and rose to become manager of a mill. He tried to enter the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, but was rejected, and instead turned his attention to the

trade union 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 benefits ( ...

movement. He became interested in

ethical socialism Ethical socialism is a political philosophy that appeals to socialism on ethical and moral grounds as opposed to consumeristic, economic, and egoistic grounds. It emphasizes the need for a morally conscious economy based upon the principles of ...

and joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP), serving on its national council, though never becoming a figure well-known to the public.Robert B. Perks,
The New Liberalism and the Challenge of Labour in the West Riding of Yorkshire 1885 - 1914, with special reference to Huddersfield
, p.398 Williams stood as the Labour Representation Committee candidate for

at the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting ele ...

. He was initially selected by the local trades council, and only later gained the backing of the ILP, against the private wishes of

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

. He believed that he had a strong chance of winning the seat, but ultimately took a close second place, with 35.2% of the vote, on an extremely high turnout of 94% of eligible voters. Williams stood again at the

1906 Huddersfield by-election The Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency), Huddersfield by-election was a UK Parliamentary by-elections, Parliamentary by-election. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past t ...

, for the renamed Labour Party, but again lost narrowly, his vote dropping slightly to 33.8%. Although blaming this on the disqualification of some working class voters, he also admitted that the party had failed to make new converts. Williams lost further favour with the ILP leadership after he endorsed Victor Grayson in his successful independent labour campaign at the

1907 Colne Valley by-election The Colne Valley by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 18 July 1907. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system. Vacancy ...

. However, he was selected for Spen Valley, taking 23.3% of the vote 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 ...

. In anticipation of an election in 1914 or 1915, he was made Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, but was not happy as he felt there was little chance of winning the seat, and by the time the 1918 general election came around, there was no Labour candidate in the town. Williams died in 1926. Independent Labour Party, ''Report of the Annual Conference'' (1926), p.26

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, T. Russell 1869 births 1926 deaths Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Huddersfield