William John Inskip (1852 – May 1899) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. Inskip grew up in

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 ...

, where he worked as a in the bootmaking trade. He became active in the

National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives 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 ...

(NUBSO), of which he was elected treasurer in 1880,Ned Newitt,
The Who's Who of Radical Leicester
then general secretary in 1886."Memorial notices: Mr. W. Inskip", ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 May 1899, p.7 In 1891, Inskip was 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 ...

as a Liberal-Labour representative, and he was also appointed as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. However, he became increasingly politically isolated, as other leading figures in the union shifted to supporting independent labour representation. Inskip and Charles Freak, also a leader of NUBSO, were part of an

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

campaign against Jewish shoe makers. As the mechanisation of the industry continued apace, The pair of them blamed Jewish shoemakers for the economic consequences. From 1892 they started to campaign for immigration restrictions which they took to the 1895 Cardiff Trade Union Congress. However Joseph Finn, Woolf Wess and Lewis Lyons organised amongst jewish trade unionists to protest against Inskip and Freak. Joseph Finn published ''A Voice from the Aliens'' criticising them from an internationalist perspective. Inskip was also active in 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 ...

(TUC), serving on its Parliamentary Committee, and also as its treasurer. In 1898, he travelled to the

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as part of a TUC delegation, but on his return, he contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, and he died in 1899, aged 47.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inskip, William 1852 births 1899 deaths Councillors in Leicestershire Trade unionists from Leicestershire General Secretaries of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Politicians from Leicester 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in the United Kingdom