See also Harry Broadhurst

Harry Broadhurst

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst GCB, KBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, AFC, RAF , commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-Early life:...

Henry Broadhurst (13 April 1840 – 11 October 1911) was a leading early British trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

ist and a Lib-Lab politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1885 and 1906.

Broadhurst was born in Littlemore

Littlemore

Littlemore is a district of Oxford, England. It has a parish council that also represents parts of Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Cowley, and Sandford-on-Thames.-History:...

, Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, the son of Thomas Broadhurst, a journeyman stonemason. He followed his father into stonemasonry

Stonemasonry

The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...

 at the age of thirteen and during the late 1850s spent a considerable period travelling the south of England, attempting to find work. In 1865, he moved to London and worked on the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster

Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world...

.

In 1872, Broadhurst was elected as the Chair of a Masons' Committee during an industrial dispute. After achieving a major victory, Broadhurst began working full time for the Stonemasons Union. He also became the union's delegate to 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...

 (TUC) and was elected to its Parliamentary Committee. In 1873, he became the secretary of the Labour Representation League

Labour Representation League

The Labour Representation League, organised in 1869, was a forerunner of the British Labour Party. Its original purpose was to register the working class to vote, and get workers into Parliament. It had limited power and was never intended to become a full political party, but played a role in...

.

At the 1874 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1874

-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

, two candidates sponsored by the League were elected, but Broadhurst was unsuccessful at High Wycombe. In 1875, he was elected Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC

General Secretary of the TUC

The General Secretary of the TUC is the chief permanent officer of the Trades Union Congress, and a major figurehead in the trade union movement in the United Kingdom....

, the post which was later to become the General Secretaryship.

At the 1880 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1880

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

, Broadhurst was elected as the Liberal–Labour

Liberal-Labour (UK)

The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions...

 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,...

 for Stoke-upon-Trent

Stoke-upon-Trent (UK Parliament constituency)

Stoke-upon-Trent was a parliamentary borough in Staffordshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1832 until 1885, and then one member from 1885 until 1918, when the borough was enlarged, renamed Stoke-on-Trent, and split into three single-member...

. Within the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

, he pushed through legislation enabling working men to act as Justices of the Peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

, and for all Government contracts to include a "fair wage" clause. In 1884, he was appointed to the Royal Commission

Royal Commission

In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

 on the housing of the working class.

In 1885 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

, Broadhurst moved to represent Birmingham Bordesley

Birmingham Bordesley (UK Parliament constituency)

Birmingham Bordesley was a borough constituency in the city of Birmingham, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

. He was appointed as Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department

-Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782-present:*April 1782: Evan Nepean*April 1782: Thomas Orde*July 1782: Henry Strachey*April 1783: George North*February 1784: Hon. John Townshend*June 1789: Scrope Bernard*July 1794: The Hon...

 in the Liberal

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...

 government, the first person from a working-class or labour movement background to hold a ministerial post. He was the first minister to be granted permission not to attend levee

Levee (event)

The levée is a New Year's Day social event hosted by the Governor General of Canada, the lieutenant governors, military establishments, municipalities and other institutions.- History :The word levée The levée is a New Year's Day social event hosted by the Governor General of Canada, the lieutenant...

s. Following his appointment, he resigned from his TUC post. William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone

William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...

 attempted but failed to have his ministerial salary reduced.

For the 1886 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1886

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

, Broadhurst moved seats again, this time winning Nottingham West

Nottingham West (UK Parliament constituency)

Nottingham West was a borough constituency in the city of Nottingham. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

. Free of ministerial responsibilities, he was again elected Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee of the TUC, but became increasingly isolated as more left wing members, such as 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...

, accused him of not sufficiently representing the interests of labour within Parliament. Following a defeat in a crucial vote at the 1890 TUC conference, and citing declining health, Broadhurst resigned the post.

In 1892, Broadhurst was appointed to a second Royal Commission, on the aged poor. He lost his seat at Nottingham West at the 1892 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1892

The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...

, and was also defeated at the Grimsby by-election, 1893. However, he returned to Parliament as MP for Leicester

Leicester (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester was a parliamentary borough in Leicestershire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1918, when it was split into three single-member divisions.-History:...

 at the Leicester by-election, 1894, holding this seat as a Lib–Lab MP until 1906.

Following his retirement, Broadhurst moved to Norfolk

Norfolk

Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...

, where he 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...

. He died at the age of 71.

Broadhurst married Eliza Olley, daughter of Edward Olley a journeyman courier at Norwich in 1859.

Archives

• Catalogue of the Broadhurst papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics
  London School of Economics
  The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
  
  .

External links