James Henry Thomas
Encyclopedia
James Henry "Jimmy" Thomas (3 October 1874 – 21 January 1949) was a British
trade unionist and Labour
(later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.
and in 1913 helped to organize its merger with two smaller trade unions on the railways to form the National Union of Railwaymen
(now part of the RMT
). Thomas was elected NUR general secretary
in 1917, a post he held until 1931.
Thomas was General Secretary during the successful national rail strike of 1919 that was jointly called by the NUR and ASLEF
against proposed wage reductions. In 1921 Thomas played a leading role in the Black Friday
crisis, in which rail and transport unions
failed to come to the aid of the mineworkers, who were facing wage reductions. Before the 1926 General Strike the TUC
asked Thomas to negotiate with Stanley Baldwin
's Conservative Government, but the talks were unsuccessful and the strike went ahead.
local councillor
for Swindon
. He was elected to Parliament in 1910 as the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Derby
, replacing Richard Bell
. He was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies
in the incoming Labour
government of 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald
. In the second Labour government of 1929 Thomas was made Lord Privy Seal
with special responsibility for employment. He became Secretary of State for the Dominions in 1930 and retained that position in Ramsay MacDonald's National Government (1931-1935). As a result of joining the National Government he was expelled from the Labour Party and the NUR. For the first few months of the National Government in 1931 he also served as Colonial Secretary once more. One of the problems he had to cope with was the Australian cricket bodyline
affair, which he said was one of the most difficult he faced.
Thomas served as Secretary of State for the Colonies
once more from 1935 until May 1936, when he was forced to resign from politics. It was revealed that he had been entertained by stock exchange
speculators and had dropped heavy hints as to tax changes planned in the budget. For example, while playing golf, he shouted "Tee up!
", which was taken as a suggestion that the duties on Tea were to rise.
.
Despite his humble origins he had a reputation for mixing well with all levels of society. Winston Churchill
is said to have been in tears during Thomas' resignation speech, and Thomas is reputed to have said to King Edward VIII
, as he handed in his seals of office, ‘Thank God your old Dad isn’t alive to see this.’
Thomas was known as a natty dresser, and was caricatured by the cartoonist David Low as "Lord Dress Suit".
Thomas died in London
in 1949. His son Leslie Thomas
became a Conservative Member of Parliament.
, a 1932 detective novel by Dorothy L. Sayers
. Thomas' custom of wearing a dress suit is cited as an apparent certainty which could fail, unlike the Second Law of Thermodynamics
, which appears to govern the case in a metaphorical way.
In the 1975 BBC television production of Sayers' 1931 novel Five Red Herrings
, Thomas is mentioned in a snatch of background dialog. A Scottish railway porter bursts out in an angry tirade: "You call this a Socialist Government? Things are harder than ever for a working man, and as for Jimmy Thomas, he has sold himself, lock, stock and barrel, to the capitalists!"
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...
trade unionist and 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...
(later National Labour) politician. He was involved in a political scandal involving budget leaks.
Early career and Trade Union activities
Thomas was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, the son of a young unmarried mother. He was raised by his grandmother and began work at twelve years of age, soon starting a career as a railway worker. He became an official of the Amalgamated Society of Railway ServantsAmalgamated Society of Railway Servants
The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom from 1872 until 1913.The ASRS was an industrial union founded in 1871 with the support of the Liberal MP Michael Bass. Its early years were difficult...
and in 1913 helped to organize its merger with two smaller trade unions on the railways to form the National Union of Railwaymen
National Union of Railwaymen
The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. It an industrial union founded in 1913 by the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants , the United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society and the General Railway Workers' Union .The NUR...
(now part of the RMT
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
). Thomas was elected NUR general secretary
General secretary
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...
in 1917, a post he held until 1931.
Thomas was General Secretary during the successful national rail strike of 1919 that was jointly called by the NUR and ASLEF
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen is the trade union representing railway workers in Great Britain who are train drivers or in the line of promotion to train driver....
against proposed wage reductions. In 1921 Thomas played a leading role in the Black Friday
Black Friday (1921)
Black Friday, in British labour history, refers to 15 April 1921, when the leaders of transport and rail unions announced a decision not to call for strike action in support of the miners...
crisis, in which rail and transport unions
National Transport Workers' Federation
The National Transport Workers' Federation was an association of British trade unions. It was formed in 1910 to co-ordinate the activities of various organisations catering for dockers, seamen, tramwaymen and road transport workers...
failed to come to the aid of the mineworkers, who were facing wage reductions. Before the 1926 General Strike the TUC
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...
asked Thomas to negotiate with Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
's Conservative Government, but the talks were unsuccessful and the strike went ahead.
Political career
Thomas began his political career as a Labour PartyLabour 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...
local councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
for Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. He was elected to Parliament in 1910 as the 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) for Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, replacing Richard Bell
Richard Bell (politician)
Richard Bell was one of the first two British Labour Members of Parliament, and the first English one, elected after the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900....
. He was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
in the incoming 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...
government of 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
. In the second Labour government of 1929 Thomas was made Lord Privy Seal
Lord Privy Seal
The Lord Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and above the Lord Great Chamberlain. The office is one of the traditional sinecure offices of state...
with special responsibility for employment. He became Secretary of State for the Dominions in 1930 and retained that position in Ramsay MacDonald's National Government (1931-1935). As a result of joining the National Government he was expelled from the Labour Party and the NUR. For the first few months of the National Government in 1931 he also served as Colonial Secretary once more. One of the problems he had to cope with was the Australian cricket bodyline
Bodyline
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman...
affair, which he said was one of the most difficult he faced.
Thomas served as Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
once more from 1935 until May 1936, when he was forced to resign from politics. It was revealed that he had been entertained by stock exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
speculators and had dropped heavy hints as to tax changes planned in the budget. For example, while playing golf, he shouted "Tee up!
Tee
A tee is a stand used to support a stationary ball so that the player can strike it, particularly in golf, tee ball, American football, and rugby.- Etymology :...
", which was taken as a suggestion that the duties on Tea were to rise.
Personal life
Thomas was made a Freeman of Newport in 1924. In May 2011 a casket given to him to celebrate the occasion was purchased at auction for Newport MuseumNewport Museum
Newport Museum is a museum and art gallery in the city of Newport, Wales. It is located in Newport city centre on John Frost Square and is adjoined to the Kingsway Shopping Centre.-The museum collection:...
.
Despite his humble origins he had a reputation for mixing well with all levels of society. 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...
is said to have been in tears during Thomas' resignation speech, and Thomas is reputed to have said to King Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
, as he handed in his seals of office, ‘Thank God your old Dad isn’t alive to see this.’
Thomas was known as a natty dresser, and was caricatured by the cartoonist David Low as "Lord Dress Suit".
Thomas died 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...
in 1949. His son Leslie Thomas
Leslie Thomas (politician)
Sir Leslie Montagu Thomas was a British Conservative politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Canterbury in a 1953 by-election, and served until he stood down in 1966....
became a Conservative Member of Parliament.
Literary reference
Thomas is mentioned in Have His CarcaseHave His Carcase
Have His Carcase is a 1932 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her seventh featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and her second novel in which Harriet Vane appears...
, a 1932 detective novel by Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
. Thomas' custom of wearing a dress suit is cited as an apparent certainty which could fail, unlike the Second Law of Thermodynamics
Second law of thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics is an expression of the tendency that over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system. From the state of thermodynamic equilibrium, the law deduced the principle of the increase of entropy and...
, which appears to govern the case in a metaphorical way.
In the 1975 BBC television production of Sayers' 1931 novel Five Red Herrings
Five Red Herrings
Five Red Herrings is a 1931 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers. It was retitled Suspicious Characters for its first publication in the United States, but reverted to its original title in subsequent printings....
, Thomas is mentioned in a snatch of background dialog. A Scottish railway porter bursts out in an angry tirade: "You call this a Socialist Government? Things are harder than ever for a working man, and as for Jimmy Thomas, he has sold himself, lock, stock and barrel, to the capitalists!"