George Lathan (5 August 1875 – 14 June 1942) 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 benefits (s ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Sheffield Park from 1929 to 1931 and from 1935 until his death. Lathan worked on the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s where he became an active trade unionist and 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 ...

. He became president of the Railway Clerks Association from 1906 until 1912, when he became its chief assistant secretary, a post he held until 1937. Lathan also joined the Labour Party, and at the 1918 general election, stood unsuccessfully in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. From 1921 until 1936, Lathan was a member of the Railways National Wages Board. From 1921 until 1937, he was the president of the

National Federation of Professional Workers The National Federation of Professional Workers (NFPW) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom. History The federation was founded on the initiative of G. D. H. Cole and Robin Page Arnot as the Federation of Professional, Technical, Adm ...

. Lathan was a parliamentary candidate at successive general elections. In

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

he was defeated in

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, then in

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

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

he stood in Sheffield Park, finally winning the seat in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. He lost the seat in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, but retook it in 1935. He served as the chairman of the Labour Party

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 ...

in 1931/2 and party treasurer from 1936 until his death.

References

*Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, ''Who's Who of British MPs: Volume III, 1919-1945''
Single or Return - the official history of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lathan, George 1875 births 1942 deaths British trade unionists Politics of Sheffield UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1935–1945 Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Transport Salaried Staffs' Association-sponsored MPs Presidents of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association