Richard William Briginshaw
Encyclopedia
Richard William Briginshaw, Baron Briginshaw (15 May 1908 – 26 March 1992) was a British
trade union
leader and politician.
Born in Brixton
, South London
to a working class
family, Briginshaw left school at the age of fourteen to become a printer's devil
. While his own family was relatively well off, he was exposed to the poverty
of Brixton at the time, and his experiences of knowing children at school without shoes, and often without food, was to colour his political views for the rest of his life.
During his early career, Briginshaw worked as a machine hand for many different newspapers, but also attended night school, studying law
and economics
and eventually gaining a diploma
from University College London
. He also became active in the trade union
movement, and in 1938 became Assistant secretary of the London branch of the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants
(NATSOPA). However, he was dismissed from his union post because of his communist
leanings - he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
and an organiser for the Printers' Anti-Fascist Movement, which the union's leadership regarded as a communist front.
After the outbreak of the Second World War
, Briginshaw joined the Army
in 1941 and served in India
, the Middle East and Western Europe
. He impressed his superiors and was offered a post as an officer
but turned it down, preferring to remain an ordinary soldier.
Following the end of the war, Briginshaw left the communist movement and joined the Labour Party
. While he was firmly on the left
of the party, he now enjoyed a rapid rise in his trade union, and in 1951 he became General Secretary
of NATSOPA; a post he would hold for the next twenty-three years.
As a trade union leader, Briginshaw was seen as an uncompromising negotiator and a strong advocate for his members. He was also a fierce opponent of the incomes policies
which both Labour and Conservative
governments sought to introduce. However, he also foresaw the changes in printing
technology which would eventually transform the newspaper
industry and weaken the trade unions. To counter this he pushed for the industry's fragmented trade unions to amalgamate into one large union with mixed success; he merged his trade union with the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers
in 1966 to form the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades
, but the two sections split shortly afterwards and were not reunited until after his retirement.
His political alliances were often controversial; when the Conservative-supporting Rupert Murdoch
and the Labour-supporting Robert Maxwell
were vying for control of The Sun
newspaper, he angered other union leaders by supporting Murdoch, who he believed would deliver better wages and job security for his members. He was a strong opponent of Britain's membership of the European Economic Community
, denouncing the day Britain joined as "the blackest day in the calendar of [its] history"
After his retirement in 1973, Briginshaw surprised many observers by accepting a life peer
age from Harold Wilson
, joining the House of Lords
and taking the title Baron Briginshaw, of Southwark
in Greater London, in January 1975. The following year he published a pamphlet called Abolish the House of Lords, denouncing it as "a worthless anachronism". He died in 1992 in Croydon
of a perforated duodenal ulcer and was survived by six children.
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 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...
leader and politician.
Born in Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
to a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family, Briginshaw left school at the age of fourteen to become a printer's devil
Printer's devil
A printer's devil was an apprentice in a printing establishment who performed a number of tasks, such as mixing tubs of ink and fetching type...
. While his own family was relatively well off, he was exposed to the poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
of Brixton at the time, and his experiences of knowing children at school without shoes, and often without food, was to colour his political views for the rest of his life.
During his early career, Briginshaw worked as a machine hand for many different newspapers, but also attended night school, studying law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and eventually gaining a diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
from University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He also became active in the 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...
movement, and in 1938 became Assistant secretary of the London branch of the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants
National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants
The National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants was a British trade union.Formed as part of the New Unionism movement in September 1889, the union was originally named the Printers' Labourers' Union and was led by George Evans...
(NATSOPA). However, he was dismissed from his union post because of his communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
leanings - he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
and an organiser for the Printers' Anti-Fascist Movement, which the union's leadership regarded as a communist front.
After the outbreak of the Second World War
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...
, Briginshaw joined the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1941 and served in India
South-East Asian theatre of World War II
The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in Burma , Ceylon, India, Thailand, Indochina, Malaya and Singapore. Conflict in the theatre began when the Empire of Japan invaded Thailand and Malaya from bases located in Indochina on December 8,...
, the Middle East and Western Europe
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
. He impressed his superiors and was offered a post as an officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
but turned it down, preferring to remain an ordinary soldier.
Following the end of the war, Briginshaw left the communist movement and joined 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...
. While he was firmly on the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
of the party, he now enjoyed a rapid rise in his trade union, and in 1951 he became General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of NATSOPA; a post he would hold for the next twenty-three years.
As a trade union leader, Briginshaw was seen as an uncompromising negotiator and a strong advocate for his members. He was also a fierce opponent of the incomes policies
Incomes policy
Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually below market level.Incomes policies have often been resorted to during wartime...
which both Labour and Conservative
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...
governments sought to introduce. However, he also foresaw the changes in printing
Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
technology which would eventually transform the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
industry and weaken the trade unions. To counter this he pushed for the industry's fragmented trade unions to amalgamate into one large union with mixed success; he merged his trade union with the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers
National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers
The National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers was a British trade union.The union was founded in 1921 as the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling and Paper Workers when the National Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers and the National Union of Printing and...
in 1966 to form the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades
Society of Graphical and Allied Trades
The Society of Graphical and Allied Trades was a British trade union in the printing industry.SOGAT was formed in 1966 by the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers and the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants...
, but the two sections split shortly afterwards and were not reunited until after his retirement.
His political alliances were often controversial; when the Conservative-supporting Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
and the Labour-supporting Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
were vying for control of The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
newspaper, he angered other union leaders by supporting Murdoch, who he believed would deliver better wages and job security for his members. He was a strong opponent of Britain's membership of the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, denouncing the day Britain joined as "the blackest day in the calendar of [its] history"
After his retirement in 1973, Briginshaw surprised many observers by accepting a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
age from Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, joining the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and taking the title Baron Briginshaw, of Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
in Greater London, in January 1975. The following year he published a pamphlet called Abolish the House of Lords, denouncing it as "a worthless anachronism". He died in 1992 in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
of a perforated duodenal ulcer and was survived by six children.