Thomas Shaw (9 April 1872 – 26 September 1938), known as Tom Shaw, was a British

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 ...

ist and Labour Party politician.

Early life and education

Shaw was born in Waterside,

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

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 Lancash ...

. He was the eldest son of a miner, Ellis Shaw, and his wife, Sarah Ann (''née'' Wilkinson). At age 10, Shaw began working part-time in a textile factory, and two years later quit school to work full-time. Later, he took evening classes to catch up with his education and was particularly skillful in languages. His knowledge of German and French proved useful to him later in his career.

Trade unions

Shaw was a strong supporter of unions. He joined the

Colne Weavers' Association The Colne and District Weavers', Winders' and Beamers' Association was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the Colne area of Lancashire in England. The union was founded by 1882, although some writers have suggested that it was alread ...

and became its secretary, and was a founding member of the

Northern Counties Textile Trades Federation The Northern Counties Textile Trades Federation was a trade union federation in northern England. History The federation was founded in 1906. By 1907, it brought together unions representing 126,700 members. Despite its name, it only included uni ...

. He was Joint Secretary of Labour and Socialist International from 1923–1925. He was secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations on a part-time basis from 1911 to 1924 and then full-time from 1925 to 1929, part-time until 1931, and then full-time again, a job that took him to nearly every country in Europe.

Political career

He sat as

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 o ...

(MP) for Preston from December 1918 until he was unseated at the 1931 general election. He served as a Junior Whip, 1919; as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

in the

Labour Government 1924 The first MacDonald ministry of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tal ...

and as Secretary of State for War from 1929–1931. During the First World War, Shaw served as Director of national service for the West Midland Region. He was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

. and appointed a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1924. Shaw served on several national commissions. In 1926, he headed a delegation to India investigate conditions in the textile industry there. From 1917 to 1920, he was a member of the Holman Gregory commission on workmen's compensation. He pushed for passage of a bill limiting to the 48-hour working week in 1919 and again in 1924. Shaw did not support communist ideology, but favoured friendly political and trade relations with Russia.

Personal life

In 1893, Shaw married Susannah Whitaker Sterne Ryan Woodhead. They had four daughters. Shaw died in September 1938 in Middlesex, aged 66.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Thomas 1872 births 1938 deaths People from Colne British trade unionists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Secretaries of State for War (UK) UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 United Textile Factory Workers' Association-sponsored MPs