Sir David James Shackleton (1863 – 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third 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,...

 in the United Kingdom

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...

, following the formation of the Labour Representation Committee. He later became a senior civil servant.

Shackleton was born in Cloughfold

Cloughfold

Cloughfold is a small hamlet in between the towns of Rawtenstall and Waterfoot in Rossendale, Lancashire.There also used to be a railway station there, Clough Fold railway station on the Rawtenstall to Bacup Line, which was opened in 1871 and closed when the line closed in 1966....

, Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall

Rawtenstall is a town at the centre of the Rossendale Valley, in Lancashire, England. It is the seat for the Borough of Rossendale, in which it is located. The town lies 18 miles north of Manchester, 22 miles east of the county town of Preston and 45 miles south east of Lancaster...

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. He became a cotton worker at the age of nine. He rose through the ranks of the cotton weavers' union and became general secretary

General secretary

-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...

 of the Textile Factory Workers Association.

Although the textile workers had not yet joined the LRC, Shackleton was appointed its candidate for the Clitheroe

Clitheroe

Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 1½ miles from the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. It has a population of 14,697...

 by-election in 1902. Philip Snowden, who had been considered by the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

, withdrew from the race. The Liberals

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 and Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 also withdrew, sensing Shackleton's strong lead. He was thus elected unopposed. The textile workers' unions affiliated to the LRC shortly afterwards. Shackleton served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party

Parliamentary Labour Party

In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....

 for a period.

Shackleton became chairman of the Trades Union Congress

Trades Union Congress

The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...

 in 1906, maintaining his powerful position in the trade union movement. In 1910, Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 invited him to join the civil service

Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

 and Shackleton left Parliament. He quickly rose to the rank of Permanent Secretary in the new Ministry of Labour and is considered the first man from a working class background to rise to such a senior position.

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