''Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne''

910 Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. __NOTOC__ Events By place Europe * June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...

AC 87 is a

UK labour law United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...

case, which ruled that it was unlawful (''

ultra vires ('beyond the powers') is a Latin phrase used in law to describe an act which requires legal authority but is done without it. Its opposite, an act done under proper authority, is ('within the powers'). Acts that are may equivalently be termed ...

'' - beyond their legal powers) for

trade unions 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 ( ...

to use funds raised from their subscriptions for political purposes (including funding the Labour Party or Labour candidates).

Facts

Osborne, a member of the

Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants Amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. Amalgamation, amalgam, and other derivatives may refer to: Mathematics and science * Amalgam (chemistry), the combination of mercury with another metal ** Pan am ...

for 16 years in Walthamstow alleged that the union's creation of a political fund to support the Labour Representation Committee in elections was done irregularly in breach of union procedure. The original rules, from 1900, contained no reference to seeking Parliamentary representation. Because of the irregularity, it was argued that the donations by the union were ''

'' and void.

Judgment

House of Lords

The House of Lords held that a union’s authority was circumscribed by the union’s rules. Use of union funds for any purpose other than those enumerated in the union rules was ''ultra vires''.

Court of Appeal

After bringing his action, Mr Osborne was expelled from the union. He brought a further claim that his expulsion was wrongful. The Court of Appeal held that he was wrongfully excluded. Lord Cozens-Hardy MR noted that the union was, at common law, a lawful association.

Significance

The judgment threatened one of the Labour party's main funding sources. This was especially detrimental to the Labour Party as its supporters were generally poorer than other political parties. The two elections in 1910 saw Labour gain 40 seats and 42 seats respectively. In 1911

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

's government decided, for the first time, that MPs should receive a salary. (Previously, only people with savings or funding organizations behind them could become Members of Parliament.)

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

, the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave MPs a wage of £400 per annum, which alleviated financial problems. The Osborne judgment was overturned in 1913 by the

Trade Union Act 1913 The Trade Union Act of 1913 was passed by the Liberal British Government under Prime Minister H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asqui ...

, which confirmed the lawfulness of union political funds, but which compromised by giving members the choice to opt out of paying into them. The

Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 ( 17 and 18 Geo V c 22) was a British Act of Parliament passed in response to the General Strike of 1926, introduced by the Attorney General for England and Wales, Sir Douglas Hogg MP. Provisions ...

required union members to opt into the political fund. The

Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1946 The Trade Disputes And Trade Unions Act 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c. 52) was a British Act of Parliament passed by post-war Labour government to repeal the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927. Repeal The Act was repealed by the Schedule 1 of the ...

repealed the 1927 Act and again required that members opt out. Currently under

TULRCA 1992 The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992c 52 is a UK Act of Parliament which regulates United Kingdom labour law. The Act applies in full in England and Wales and in Scotland, and partially in Northern Ireland. The law cont ...

s 82, members have the right to not contribute to a political fund, not be discriminated against for it, and the right to complain to the Certification Officer.

Notes

External links

The Osborne Judgement of 1909: Trade Union funding of political parties in historical perspective

The Osborne Judgement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne Judgment 1909 in the United Kingdom British trade unions history 1909 in British law 1909 in case law 1909 in labor relations House of Lords cases United Kingdom trade union case law Political funding in the United Kingdom Railway litigation in 1909