Thomas Brindle (1878 – 19 November 1950) was a New Zealand activist for the

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

who was jailed during World War I for speaking out against conscription. He was a member of

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

and stood for election to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

five times. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1936 until March 1950.

Early life in England

Brindle was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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 ...

, England, in 1878. In England, he was active in 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 ...

Political career

Brindle emigrated to New Zealand in 1910 or 1912, and he became active with the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SDP). He was jailed in 1916 during World War I for speaking out against

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

. In 1918 he was nominated by the SDP for the Labour nomination in the Wellington South by-election, but was defeated by

Bob Semple Robert Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand. He is also known for creating the Bob Semple tank. Early life He was born in Sofala, New ...

. He stood for secretaryship of the

in 1919, but withdrew and

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colony ...

became the first full-time paid secretary. Brindle stood again in 1920, but lost the ballot. From 1922 to 1926, he was the 6th President of the Labour Party. Brindle unsuccessfully stood five times for the

. In and , he was one of three candidates in the electorate, and he came last on both occasions. In , he was one of three candidates in the electorate, and he again came last. In and , he was one of three candidates in the electorate, and he came second on both occasions. Brindle was first elected to

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

after standing unsuccessfully several times prior and remained on the city council until

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, the same year all Labour local body members in Wellington lost their seats. He was also a member of the Wellington Fire Board. He was appointed to the Legislative Council by the First Labour Government under

and was one of 14 new appointments. At the time of his appointment, he lived in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. Brindle was a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

from 9 March 1936 to 8 March 1943; and 9 March 1943 to 8 March 1950.

Death

Brindle died on 19 November 1950 at his home in Ōtaki.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brindle, Thomas 1878 births 1950 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Labour Party MLCs New Zealand anti–World War I activists New Zealand politicians convicted of crimes Politicians from Manchester Politicians from Wellington City Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Wellington City Councillors