Stephen Walsh PC  was a British miner, trade unionist 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.

Background

Born in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Walsh became an orphan at a very young age. He was educated at an industrial school in the Kirkdale area of the city, leaving school aged 13 to work in a coalmine in Ashton in Makerfield.

Political career

Walsh was an official of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation

Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation

The Lancashire and Cheshire Miners' Federation was a trade union which operated on the Lancashire Coalfield in North West England.-Background:...

 before he was elected to parliament for Ince

Ince (UK Parliament constituency)

Ince was a parliamentary constituency in England which elected one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It comprised the town of Ince-in-Makerfield and other towns south of Wigan....

 in the 1906 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1906

-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...

. He was a member of David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George

David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...

's Coalition Government

Coalition Government 1916-1922

The Coalition Government of David Lloyd George came to power in the United Kingdom in December 1916, replacing the earlier wartime coalition under H.H. Asquith, which had been held responsible for reverses during the Great War. Those Liberals who continued to support Asquith served as the Opposition...

 as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of National Service in 1917 and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board

Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board was, from 1871 – 1919, a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom subordinate to the President of the Local Government Board...

 from 1917 to 1919.

Walsh stood in the 1918 election

United Kingdom general election, 1918

The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...

 as a Coalition Labour

Coalition Labour

Coalition Labour was a description used by previously Labour Party supporting candidates in the 1918 General Election who supported the ruling coalition. Only two actually received a Coalition Coupon: J. R...

 candidate opposed by the official Labour Party. He was Vice-President of National Union of Mineworkers from 1922 to 1924 until he was appointed Secretary of State for War

Secretary of State for War

The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas . In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The position was re-instated in 1854...

 by 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 January 1924, a post he held until the government fell in November of the same year. He was sworn of the Privy Council in January 1924.

External links

• Stephen Walsh at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk