Zephaniah Hutchinson (2 November 1888 – 5 January 1959) 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 political activist. Known as the leading left-wing activist in the Lancashire cotton trade unions, he served for 28 years as leader of the Bacup Weavers' Association. Born in

Cowling, Craven Cowling is a village, electoral division and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the borders with the adjacent counties of West Yorkshire, and Lancashire. Historically part of the West Riding of ...

, in Yorkshire, Hutchinson began working in a cotton mill in

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

at the age of twelve. Three years later, he joined the

Colne Weavers' Association The Colne and District Weavers', Winders' and Beamers' Association was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the Colne area of Lancashire in England. The union was founded by 1882, although some writers have suggested that it was alread ...

. He later moved to work in

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, becoming a prominent activist in the

Nelson Weavers' Association The Nelson Weavers' Association (NWA) was a trade union representing cotton weavers in the area of Nelson, Lancashire. As the main industry in the town, the union has been influential in its history, and some of its leaders became significant n ...

. While in Nelson, Hutchinson joined the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

(ILP). He became the ILP's leading member in the cotton trade unions, and in this role tried, unsuccessfully, to get the

United Textile Factory Workers' Association The United Textile Factory Workers' Association (UTFWA) was a trade union federation in Great Britain. It was active from 1889 until 1975. Objectives The federation was founded in 1889, to represent the various textile workers' unions in polit ...

(UTFWA) to adopt

Philip Snowden Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, PC (; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utop ...

as a candidate in the 1920 Nelson and Colne by-election. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party, which appointed Hutchinson as a circulation organiser for its newspaper, the '' Daily Citizen''. The paper proved shortlived, and Hutchinson moved on to work for '' The Daily News''. He married, and decided to return to weaving, but remained active in the Labour Party, for which he stood unsuccessfully in

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

at the

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and

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s. His candidacy was funded by the UTFWA, the only left-wing candidate it backed in this period. Hutchinson was keen to progress in the trade union movement, but was unsuccessful for many years as his maths skills were poor, and these were considered vital for cotton trade union leaders. Eventually, in 1926, he was appointed as the full-time general secretary of the Bacup Weavers', Winders' and Beamers' Association. He proved highly effective, tripling the union's membership within three months. He chaired the Bacup Textile Trades Federation, and also wrote widely about weaving. During the

more looms The more looms system was a productivity strategy introduced in the Lancashire cotton industry, whereby each weaver would manage a greater number of looms. It was an alternative to investing in the more productive Northrop automatic looms in the ...

dispute of the early 1930s, he led a delegation to Parliament, largely consisting of Nelson Weavers officials. This was successful in getting employers to back down, although the victory was shortlived. Hutchinson remained the leading left-wing member of the cotton unions, and led opposition to UTFWA calls for a new Cotton Control Board, arguing instead for the

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of the industry. However, the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

and its

National Minority Movement The National Minority Movement was a British organisation, established in 1924 by the Communist Party of Great Britain, which attempted to organise a radical presence within the existing trade unions. The organization was headed by longtime unio ...

, led in the cotton industry by Harold Dickinson, refused to work with him. By 1933, he had left the ILP and joined the Socialist League. Hutchinson retired in 1954, and died in 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Zeph 1888 births 1959 deaths General secretaries of British trade unions Independent Labour Party politicians Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Craven District