Thomas Kennedy (25 December 1874 – 3 March 1954) was a British

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician.

Biography

Kennedy was born in

Kennethmont Kennethmont (archaically Kinnethmont) is a village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately south of Huntly. It has a population of approximately 470 people. Kennethmont children attend Kennethmont Primary School and the Gordo ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, and became a railway clerk. He joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF) and soon became its organiser for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, standing for Parliament in Aberdeen North in the

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

and January 1910 general elections. He supported the SDF's formation of the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

(BSP) and became its National Organiser in 1913, but in 1914 left to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. As a supporter of the War, he left the BSP in 1916 to join the new National Socialist Party. He became the editor of the ''Social Democrat'', successor to ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. His first wife, Christian Farquharson, whom he married in 1905, was also a socialist, having attended the International Socialist Congress in Paris in 1900. She died in 1917 and he subsequently remarried. He was Labour

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Kirkcaldy Burghs from 1921–1922, from 1923–1931 and from 1935–1944 and also unsuccessfully fought the

1932 Montrose Burghs by-election The 1932 Montrose Burghs by-election was held on 28 June 1932. The by-election was held due to the succession to the peerage of the incumbent Liberal National MP, Robert Hutchison. It was won by the Liberal National candidate Charles Kerr. ...

. He was Scottish Labour Whip in 1921–1922 and from 1923–1925. He served in Government as a

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

in 1924, in opposition as Deputy Chief Whip (1925–1927) and Chief Whip of the Labour Party (1927–1931) and again in Government as

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

from 1929–1931. He was appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in the

1931 New Year Honours The 1931 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1930. The recipients of honour ...

. He died on 3 March 1954.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tom 1874 births 1954 deaths People from Aberdeenshire British Socialist Party members Social Democratic Federation members Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Scottish Labour MPs UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945