Tom Fox (1860 – 10 August 1934) was a

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Labour Party politician. Born to a Catholic family in

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 23,731 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east of Manchester city centre and no ...

, Fox worked half-time in a cotton mill from an early age, while attending St Peter's School. He studied at the mechanics institute in his spare time, before leaving the mill due to poor health and working as a shop assistant.All About People: Tittle Tattle
, ''

Catholic Press ''The Catholic Press'' was a Sydney-based newspaper that was first published on 9 November 1895 and ran until 26 February 1942, after which it amalgamated with the Catholic ''Freeman's Journal'' and was reborn as '' The Catholic Weekly''. Hi ...

'', 22 November 1934 In about 1875, he joined the

King's Liverpool Regiment The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which wer ...

, serving in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and then fighting in the

Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...

, where he became a sergeant and was nearly killed. He subsequently retired from the Army and became a labourer. Labour Party, ''Report of the Annual Conference'' (1934), p.65 He worked with Leonard Hall to form the Manchester Ship Canal Navvies Union in 1888; this became the British Labour Amalgamation, and Fox succeeded Hall as its General Secretary in 1897.Arthur Ivor Marsh, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions, Vol. 5'', p.448-449 He increased the union's membership, to nearly 5,000 by 1913, before leading it in a merger with the

National Union of General Workers The National Union of General Workers is the name of: * National Union of General Workers (Sohyo), a former trade union in Japan * National Union of General Workers (Zenrokyo) The National Union of General Workers (NUGW) is the shortened, Engl ...

in 1917. He also served as Secretary, and later as President, of the

Manchester Trades and Labour Council The Manchester Trades Union Council brings together trade union branches in Manchester in England. History Efforts to bring trade unionists together across Manchester go back to the eighteenth century. In 1818 the cotton spinners persuaded othe ...

. Fox was an early activist for the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), and was one of its first local election candidates, in 1902. Although he did not win on that occasion, he was elected to

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

in 1904, and remained on the council for many years, becoming 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 ...

in 1919, and serving as the first Labour

Lord Mayor of Manchester This is a list of the Lord Mayors of the City of Manchester in the North West of England. Not to be confused with the Directly elected Greater Manchester Mayor. The Current and 124th Lord Mayor is Cllr Donna Ludford, Labour who has served Si ...

, in 1919/20. Fox was a member of the

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of the LRC and its successor, the Labour Party, for many years prior to

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 ...

, and he served as

Chair of the Labour Party The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position ...

in 1913/14. He used the opportunity to push the party to adopt more efficient methods of organisation, learning from the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

Duncan Tanner Duncan Tanner (19 February 1958 – 11 February 2010) was a political historian and academic. His best-known work covered the British Labour Party and voting in the early 20th century. He held the post of director of the Welsh Institute for Social ...

and Pat Thane, ''Labour's First Century'', p.315

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Tom 1860 births 1934 deaths Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Councillors in Manchester King's Regiment (Liverpool) soldiers British trade union leaders Lord Mayors of Manchester People from Stalybridge Military personnel from Manchester