Tom Snowden

CBE 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 ...

, (1875-27 November 1949) 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, ...

Labour Party politician. Born in

Cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, he was educated at the local board school before establishing his own worsted cloth manufacturing business in

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of ...

. He first contested a parliamentary election in 1918 as a Labour candidate for Shipley. He was not elected, but became a member of Bingley Urban District Council, of which he was chairman in 1921–22. He made three more unsuccessful attempts to enter the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

for Yorkshire constituencies: for

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Ai ...

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

and Sheffield Central in

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

. He served three terms on the West Riding County Council as councillor for Bingley, from 1913–16, 1919–22, and 1925–28. He was a governor of

Giggleswick School Giggleswick School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in Giggleswick, near Settle, North Yorkshire, England. Early school In 1499, Giggleswick School was founded on half an acre of land leased by the Prior an ...

. At the 1929 general election he was chosen to contest the Lancashire seat of Accrington. The Labour Party made large gains throughout the country, and Snowden was elected as Accrington's member of parliament. Labour formed a minority government. However this government collapsed in 1931 and the Labour Party split. At the ensuing general election in October 1931, Labour lost most of the seats it had won in 1929, including Snowden's. He did not contest another parliamentary election, but became a member of Keighley Borough Council, and was Mayor of Keighley in 1942–43. He was a justice of the peace and chairman of the Bingley Bench of Magistrates. He was a cousin of

Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...

, a Labour cabinet minister, who also came from Cowling. Following the viscount's death in 1937, Tom Snowden scattered his ashes on Ickornshaw Moor close to his birthplace. He was made a

Commander of the Most Excellent 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 ...

(CBE) in the

Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are prese ...

of 1949 for "political and public services in the West Riding of Yorkshire". He died later in the same year at his home in Bingley, aged 74.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden, Tom Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 1875 births 1949 deaths UK MPs 1929–1931 Mayors of Keighley Members of West Riding County Council