William Newton (1822 – 9 March 1876) was a British

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 ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and Chartist.

Biography

Newton was born in

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

; his father, William Newton, was an engineer. He completed an apprenticeship in engineering in

Etruria, Staffordshire Etruria is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. History Home of Wedgwood Etruria was the fourth and penultimate site for the Wedgwood pottery business. Josiah Wedgwood, who was previously based in Burslem, opened his new wo ...

. In 1840, he joined the Journeymen Steam Engine and Machine Makers' Society, and moved to London soon afterwards. Newton continued to work in engineering in London, becoming a foreman, but he was sacked in 1848 for his trade union activities. He became the manager of a pub in Ratcliff Cross, and turned it into a base for the Steam Engine Makers. Working with William Allan, he proposed merging the many small

craft union Craft unionism refers to a model of trade unionism in which workers are organised based on the particular craft or trade in which they work. It contrasts with industrial unionism, in which all workers in the same industry are organized into the s ...

s to form a large body. This was achieved in 1851, with the establishment of 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 M ...

(ASE), and Newton then published and edited ''The Operative'', a newspaper linked with the new union. Newton also served on the ASE's executive, and introduced a motion for members to stop working

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

and

piece-work Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations o ...

. This was passed, and led to a major

lock-out A lockout is a work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labour dispute. In contrast to a strike, in which employees refuse to work, a lockout is initiated by employers or industry owners. Lockouts ...

in 1852. During the lock-out, Newton toured the country giving speeches, but the action was eventually lost. Newton left the union's executive and began instead promoting the creation of

producer co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

s, although he continued to speak in support of the principle of trade unionism. He was also influenced by

William James Linton William James Linton (December 7, 1812December 29, 1897) was an English-born American wood-engraver, landscape painter, political reformer and author of memoirs, novels, poetry and non-fiction. Birth and early years Born in Mile End, east Lon ...

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

.Francis Barrymore Smith, ''Radical Artisan'', p.107 At the

1852 United Kingdom general election The 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liber ...

, Newton stood as an independent Chartist candidate in

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

. The first independent candidate from the labour movement in the UK, he took more than 1,000 votes but last place in the poll. Encouraged by his performance, he proposed creating a national political party to campaign for

universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slog ...

. Although there was some interest in his proposal, the national Chartist leadership rejected the idea. Newton then devoted much of his time to newspaper publication: firstly, ''The Englishman'', then from 1858 to 1876, the ''East London Observer''. He was also elected as president of the Labour Representation League. He was elected to serve on the

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

, later becoming its chairman, and the

Mile End Old Town Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

representative on the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...

. He stood again for Parliament in Tower Hamlets at the

1868 United Kingdom general election The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom. It was the first ...

, this time as a

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

aligned with the

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 ...

, and finally at the 1876 Ipswich by-election, but came bottom of the poll on each occasion. He married Emma née Baxter, the daughter of a labourer, in 1842. The couple had a daughter. He became ill with

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

and other problems, and died in London in 1876.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, William 1822 births 1876 deaths British journalists British trade unionists Chartists Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Members of the Metropolitan Board of Works People from Congleton