Thomas Irwin (died 1941 or 1942) was a Scottish

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, who played a prominent role in the split 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 ...

from the Labour Party. Living in

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

, Irwin worked as a boilermaker, and became active in the

United Society of Boilermakers The Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers, Shipwrights, Blacksmiths and Structural Workers (ASB) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. Many of its members worked in shipbuilding, in which industry it was the leading trade union, while over tim ...

. He also joined the

(ILP), which was affiliated to the Labour Party. He was elected to Dumbarton Town Council, and became a

bailie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables i ...

. In addition, he was involved in the National Union of Unemployed Workers, serving as its treasurer. Irwin was selected by the Boilermakers as a prospective Parliamentary candidate, and at the

1929 United Kingdom general election The 1929 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 30 May 1929 and resulted in a hung parliament. It stands as the fourth of six instances under the secret ballot, and the first of three under universal suffrage, in which a party ha ...

, he stood in Montrose Burghs. He took 44.5% of the votes cast, and a strong second place. As a result of this, he was selected to stand in the

1930 East Renfrewshire by-election The 1930 East Renfrewshire by-election was a parliamentary by-election held on 28 November 1930 for the British House of Commons constituency of East Renfrewshire in Scotland. Previous MP The seat had become vacant when the constituency's U ...

by the local Labour Party and

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

. However, the national Labour Party learned that he had signed an ILP document, pledging to vote against Labour Party policy in certain matters. After lengthy deliberation, it refused to approve his candidacy, making Irwin the first independent ILP candidate in many years. He took 33.3% of the vote and a distant second place, which both parties considered a disappointing result. Irwin's candidacy marked a new stage in the split of the ILP from the Labour Party, which was finalised in 1932. However, Irwin chose to remain with the Labour Party, standing for it in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

at both the

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1935 United Kingdom general election The 1935 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 14 November 1935 and resulted in a large, albeit reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Stanley Baldwin of the Conservative Party. The greatest number of members, ...

s. He took second place on each occasion, although his vote share increased from 30.7% to 44.0%. This proved to be his last contest, and he died in 1941 or 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Thomas Year of birth missing 1940s deaths Year of death uncertain Councillors in West Dunbartonshire Independent Labour Party parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Dumbarton