It is of course an obvious observation that political fortunes wax and wane, and the mould breaking gains of one year become the pit of electoral despair the following year.
 |
| ILP logo, 1893-1975 |
And so it was with the Independent Labour Party, which shortly after its formation won two seats in the 1894 elections to Manchester City Council. The real significance of which was that they were the first two Labour councillors.
In what were fiercely fought contests in which the Conservative were not above using scare tactics, the ILP won the Bradford and Openshaw wards. In Bradford John Edward Sutton took 54% of the vote, and in Openshaw Jessie Butler gained a narrow majority with 50% of the total vote.
Across the city the ILP had put up candidates in eleven of the fifteen seats and in total got just over 10,000 votes, coming a decent second in Harpurhey, racking up an impressive 1,261 in New Cross and four figure results in another six wards, with only St John’s falling below the trend with just 83 votes.
 |
| ILP share of the vote, 1895 |
But anyone who follows local elections will know that there can be wide variations from one year to the next, and the fortunes of the ILP prove testimony to the rule.
In 1895, they contested just five of the 15 seats, gained none and returned shares of the total vote ranging from 37% in Harpurhey down to 11% in Miles Platting, while in Bradford they sank to just 21% and in Openshaw got a marginally better 26%.
And while they contested more seats in the following year, achieving four figure results in five of the seven wards, it would not be until 1897 that ILP candidates were returned.
 |
| ILP & SDF results, 1897 |
In Bradford, John Edward Sutton was reelected, and was joined by another ILP candidate in Harpurhey, and a member of Social Democratic Federation in St George’s Ward.
Of course, what is missing from these elections results is the politics behind them, and to judge the significance of what happened you have to fall back on the national as well as the local scene to provide a context.
And that I have yet to do.
But the victories in 1894 were in part a response to the way the ILP had organized in the working-class areas in the city and in particular to the bitter coal strike in 1893 which commentators at the time thought was decisive in the ILP gaining Bradford and Openshaw, many of whose electors worked at Bradford Colliery, and who also identified with Mr. Sutton and Mr. Butler who were miners.
 |
| John Edward Sutton, date unknown |
Equally we know that in 1878 which saw the election of the two ILP and one SDF councilor, local factors came into play. In the case of Bradford, John Edward Sutton was a respected councillor who was defending his seat, and was reelected but with a reduced share of the vote.
In Harpurhey the ILP had achieved consistent good results over the previous two years, and in Openshaw Jessie Butler who failed to regain his seat lost because the Labour vote was split.
Mr. Butler according to the Manchester Guardian “came out this time simply on Labour lines, having severed his connection with the Independent Labour Party for various reason, and had to meet the opposition of many of his old supporters and the solid body of Conservatives”.*
And while the ILP did not put up a candidate, he achieved just 40% of the vote.
I wish there were more local detail.
That will have to wait till Central Ref is fully open again and there is access to the local media, which I am confident will provide the background to what was happening in the city between 1894 and 1897 and is also a nudge to me to delve deeper into the national political scene.
For now, that is it.
Pictures; logo of the ILP, 1893-1975, John Edward Sutton date unknown, election results from the Manchester Guardian, 1894-98
*The Municipal Elections, The Manchester Guardian, November 2nd, 1897
No comments:
Post a Comment