Charles Butt Stanton was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He served as an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) from 1915 to 1922.

Stanton began his political career as a miners' leader at Aberdare

Aberdare

Aberdare is an industrial town in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Dare and Cynon. The population at the census was 31,705...

. A militant, he was critical of the more moderate approach adopted by the local Labour MP, Keir Hardie

Keir Hardie

James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

, whom he would succeed in 1915 as MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil (UK Parliament constituency)

Merthyr Tydfil was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan. From 1832 to 1868 it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and in 1868 this was increased to two members...

, where he stood in a by-election against the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 candidate, James Winstone

James Winstone

James Winstone was a British trade unionistBorn in Risca, Winstone worked from the age of eight, first at a local brickworks, then at Risca United Colliery. He was elected checkweighman, and worked with William Brace to campaign against the sliding pay scale...

, and was backed by the British Workers League

British Workers League

The British Workers League was a 'patriotic labour' group which was anti-socialist and pro-war.The league's origins lay in the 1915 split by the right-wing of the British Socialist Party, primarily over issues raised by the First World War...

. He supported the Lloyd George Coalition Government and in 1918 was elected on a National Democratic and Labour Party

National Democratic and Labour Party

The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party , was a political party in the United Kingdom....

 candidate for the new constituency of Aberdare

Aberdare (UK Parliament constituency)

Aberdare was a constituency in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 1918 general election and returned one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system until it was abolished for the 1983 general election....

, but was defeated in 1922 by an official Labour candidate.