Thomas Smith (1847 – December 1919) 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, ...

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 ( ...

leader and politician. Born in

Stone, Staffordshire Stone is a canal town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, north of Stafford, south of Stoke-on-Trent and north of Rugeley. It was an urban district council and a rural district council before becoming part of the Stafford (borough), ...

, Smith was taught bootmaking by his father, and the two moved first to

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, then to

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

, to find work. In Stafford, Smith became involved with the

movement, and in time became leader of the Staffordshire Riveters.Ned Newitt,
Thomas Smith
, ''The Who's Who of Radical Leicester'' In 1873, Smith organised a conference which successfully persuaded various local bootmakers' unions to merge. They formed the

National Union of Boot and Shoe Rivetters and Finishers The National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1873 and 1971. It represented workers in the footwear industry. History The union was founded in 1873, when many riveters and ...

, and Smith easily elected as its first general secretary. He moved to

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

to set up headquarters there, and became active in the local

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

.Ned Newitt, ''A People's History of Leicester'', p.18 Running the union proved difficult, with opposition from some employers, various factions vying for influence, and finances precarious, but it survived. In 1877, when the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

was held in Leicester, Smith was elected to its

Parliamentary Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

. Smith was elected to Leicester School Board in 1877, and the year after, resigned as secretary of the union to become the full-time secretary of the Leicester Liberal Association, although he retained his union membership. He remained secretary of the Liberals until 1892, by which time he had also been elected to

Leicester Town Council Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently control ...

. He then took employment with the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

as an official arbitrator in trade disputes. Remaining on the council, he served as

Mayor of Leicester The mayor of Leicester is responsible for the executive function of Leicester City Council in England. The incumbent is Peter Soulsby of the Labour Party. Background In December 2010 the Labour controlled Leicester City Council approved plan ...

in 1907/08. Smith died in 1919, while serving as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

on the council. His obituary in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' noted that he was a friend of

Henry Broadhurst :''See also Harry Broadhurst'' Henry Broadhurst (13 April 1840 – 11 October 1911) was a leading early British trade unionist and a Lib-Lab politician who sat in the House of Commons for various Midlands constituencies between 1880 and 190 ...

o title O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

'', 7 December 1919, p.15

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas 1847 births 1919 deaths General Secretaries of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives Liberal Party (UK) councillors Mayors of places in Leicestershire Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress People from Stone, Staffordshire Trade unionists from Staffordshire