Thomas Aspinwall (29 May 1846 – 21 March 1901) 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 ...

. Born in

Bickerstaffe Bickerstaffe is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 Census the population of the civil parish was 1,196, reducing to 1,180 at the 2011 census, although the population of the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Aspinwall moved with his family to

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

in 1860, and he began working at a local coal mine. He was elected as the

checkweighman {{Short description, Occupation within mining, especially coal A checkweighman (occasionally checkmeasurer or checkweigher) is a person who is responsible for weighing coal or another mined substance, and thereby determining the payment due to each ...

in 1873, and alongside this also began working as a shopkeeper.Robin Page Arnott, ''The Miners: A History of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain'' In 1879, Aspinwall was elected as the General Secretary of the Ashton-under-Lyne Miners' Association, and he immediately convened a meeting of all the miners' unions in the county. This led to a series of conferences which ultimately founded the

Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation (LCMF) was a trade union that operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England from 1881 until it became the Lancashire area of the National Union of Mineworkers in 1945. Background Colli ...

, Aspinwall being elected as its first President. This was somewhat controversial, with a minority of members arguing that only full-time working miners should hold union posts. A major strike in 1880 led to Aspinwall losing his job as checkweighman; although it was an elected post, it could only be held by workers employed by a colliery. However, Aspinwall soon found a new post as agent for the Skelmersdale District Miners' Association, from 1887 combining this with the post of agent for the Wigan, Pemberton, Standish, Aspull and Blackrod Miners' Union. Aspinwall supported the formation 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 ...

in 1889, and served as the Lancashire representative on its executive committee for the first few years. He became a well-known figure, addressing an international miners' conference in Paris in 1891, and standing unsuccessfully as a Liberal-Labour candidate for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

at the 1892 general election. Although he did not win, he was only 110 votes away from taking the seat, and so the miners and Wigan Trades Council both asked him to stand again at the 1895 general election. The West Lancashire Liberal Party instead hoped to stand W. Woods, owner of a local colliery, but Prime Minister

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian, (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of ...

backed Aspinwall. Woods withdrew his candidacy, leaving the way open for Aspinwall to stand, but the West Lancashire Liberals still voted not to support the candidacy of a worker. Ultimately, Aspinwall lost the election by a wider margin of nearly 900 votes. Aspinwall devoted much of his spare time to religion, and to

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

campaigning.Raymond Challinor, ''The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners'', p.178 He was also vice-president of the board of the

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, also known as the Wigan Infirmary, is a health facility in Wigan Lane, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is managed by the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. History The facility has its o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinwall, Thomas 1846 births 1901 deaths Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians People from Skelmersdale Presidents of British trade unions Trade unionists from Lancashire