Harry Thorneycroft was a British hairdresser

Hairdresser

Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...

 and 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...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1942 to 1955.

He was educated at an elementary school

Elementary school

An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...

, and began work in a hairdresser's shop at the age of 9. He later became President of the National Federation of Hairdressers.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 he served overseas with the Royal Field Artillery

Royal Field Artillery

The Royal Field Artillery of the British Army provided artillery support for the British Army. It came into being when the Royal Artillery was divided on 1 July 1899, it was reamalgamated back into the Royal Artillery in 1924....

. He was elected to Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council

Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...

 in 1923, and became an alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 in 1939.

Thorneycroft unsuccessfully contested the borough of Blackpool

Blackpool (UK Parliament constituency)

Blackpool was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Blackpool in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

 at the 1935 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1935

The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...

, and was elected to Parliament seven years later at a by-election in October 1942 after the death of the Labour MP John Jagger

John Jagger

John Jagger was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician. After a career in business and trade union leadership, he won a seat in the House of Commons in 1935, and held it until his death in a road accident.- Career :...

. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the parties in the coalition government did not contest by-elections when vacancies occurred in seats held by their coalition partners, but in the Clayton by-election Thorneycroft was opposed by 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...

 candidate, Major Hammond Foot. Thorneycroft received a letter of support signed by the Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

, 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...

, and the leaders of the other coalition parties. He was the first Labour candidate to receive such a letter, and won the seat with 93.3% of the votes.

He held the seat until the constituency was abolished for the 1955 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1955

The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...

, when he retired from Parliament.

From 1945 to 1947 he was Parliamentary Private Secretary

Parliamentary Private Secretary

A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

 (PPS) to Lord Pethick-Lawrence

Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence

Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence PC was a British Labour politician.-Background and education:...

, the Secretary of State for India and Burma. He was then PPS to Arthur Henderson

Arthur Henderson, Baron Rowley

Arthur Henderson, Baron Rowley, PC was a British Labour Party politician.Arthur Henderson was the son of Arthur Henderson, who was Leader of the Labour Party between 1908-1910, 1914-17 and 1931-1932.-Parliament:...

, the Secretary of State for Air

Secretary of State for Air

The Secretary of State for Air was a cabinet level British position. The person holding this position was in charge of the Air Ministry. It was created on 10 January 1919 to manage the Royal Air Force...

 from 1947 until the Labour Government left office in 1951.

He died in hospital in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

on 7 March 1956, aged 64.

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