William Harold Hutchinson (25 April 1878''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 19 May 1965) 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 unionist 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 Employee ben ...

and Labour Party activist. Educated to secondary school level, Hutchinson became active in the

Amalgamated Society of Engineers The Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE) was a major British trade union, representing factory workers and mechanics. History The history of the union can be traced back to the formation of the Journeymen Steam Engine, Machine Makers' and Mi ...

, and was first elected to its Executive Council in 1913. The following year, he was also elected to the

National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

of the Labour Party, becoming its chairman in 1920. He stood for the party in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

at the 1924 general election, but was not successful.HUTCHINSON, William H
, ''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'' Unusually for a trade union official, Hutchinson was a supporter of

guild socialism Guild socialism is a political movement advocating workers' control of industry through the medium of trade-related guilds "in an implied contractual relationship with the public". It originated in the United Kingdom and was at its most influent ...

, and was close to

G. D. H. Cole George Douglas Howard Cole (25 September 1889 – 14 January 1959) was an English political theorist, economist, and historian. As a believer in common ownership of the means of production, he theorised guild socialism (production organised ...

and the

Fabian Society The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. The Fa ...

.Margaret Cole, ''The Story of Fabian Socialism'', p.181 In 1925, Hutchinson was elected to

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

in Woolwich East, although he did not defend his seat at the following election. From 1930 to 1933, he was President of the renamed

Amalgamated Engineering Union The Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) was a major United Kingdom, British trade union. It merged with the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union to form the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union in 1992. History ...

, and he served the union until his retirement in 1943. He then briefly worked as an organiser for the Industrial Orthopaedic Society, before retiring fully in 1946. He died in Cardiff, aged 87.''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, William Harold 1878 births 1965 deaths British trade unionists Labour Party (UK) councillors Members of London County Council Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Presidents of the Amalgamated Engineering Union