Wilfrid Burke
Encyclopedia
Wilfrid Andrew Burke was a British
Trade union
organiser and politician who achieved high office in the Labour Party
and served as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Burnley
for 24 years. He was briefly in the Attlee government as Assistant Postmaster-General
. After leaving the government he concentrated on party work, fighting Bevanites
and serving as Chairman of the National Executive Committee
.
, and went to Oulton College in the city. Burke then trained as a teacher and worked as such for several years, before going into commerce in Manchester
in 1918. At the same time he joined the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers, which later became the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
.
in Manchester; there he was helped by his work in his spare time campaigning for the party. At the 1924 general election
, Burke was the Labour candidate for Manchester Blackley
; the seat was held by Philip Oliver
for the Liberal Party
. Burke ended up coming narrowly third as Oliver lost the seat to the Conservative Party
. Burke was thought to have polled well.
Burke was readopted as Labour candidate for the seat in March 1925. Before the 1929 general election
came, he had fought several municipal elections. The contest was assessed by The Times
as turning on the extent to which Labour encroached on the Liberal vote. Despite his campaigning experience Burke remained in third place, and Oliver regained his seat by 888 votes. Burke stood again in the 1931 general election
, but was heavily defeated.
, a constituency which had up until 1931 by party leader Arthur Henderson
. The sitting member who had beaten Henderson was Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell VC, a First World War hero elected as a 'National' candidate and not a Conservative; Campbell decided to stand as a Liberal National
but was still reckoned to have a difficult fight. After a tough fight Burke won by 4,195 votes.
saying "clogs to clogs in three generations", and asked for the appointments to the advisory committee under the Act to include textile workers rather than factory owners. He spoke in an all-night debate on unemployment assistance regulations in July 1936, blaming increased unemployment in Burnley on the National government's destroying the market for textiles in India.
In November 1936, referring to a speech by Sir Arnold Wilson
praising Germany
, Burke expressed his disappointment and dismay at "growing appreciation of the totalitarian state" by Conservative MPs. He launched a debate on location of industry later that month, calling for new industries to be diverted from London to areas of high unemployment. Burke regularly called for moves to preserve steady trade with overseas markets for Lancashire textiles, as when he argued in March 1939 in support of a Government Bill to create a fund to stabilise the exchange rate between Britain and China during the Second Sino-Japanese War
; other Labour MPs had moved the rejection of the Bill.
for the Labour Party in 1941; however he voted against the Government's proposal to delay the implementation of the Beveridge Report
in February 1943, and was replaced in October of that year.
. The resolution was carried. He was a member of the executive of the newly formed Anglo-French Inter-Parliamentary Committee in October 1944, and having been sponsored by the shopworkers' union to be a member of the National Executive Committee
of the Labour Party from 1944, in August 1945 he was one of three fraternal delegates representing the Labour Party at the conference of the French Socialist Party
. He was a member of many more international delegations during his time on the National Executive.
, his result being one of the first to be announced. On 10 August he was appointed by new Prime Minister Clement Attlee
as Assistant Postmaster-General
, being the spokesman for his department in the House of Commons as the Postmaster-General was the Earl of Listowel
.
In office, Burke's main job was to return the Royal Mail
and the General Post Office
(including the telephone system) to its pre-war function of serving civilian life, including reintroducing some services closed to aid the war effort. In March 1946 Burke and Listowel were able to announce the opening of several schemes to improve the service. Pressure was put on Burke by the Union of Post Office Workers
and the Post Office Engineering Union
to include Cable & Wireless
in the Government's programme of nationalisation, pressure which was ultimately successful. The department expanded in spring 1946 when the Ministry of Information
was abolished, and Burke announced the commencement of BBC
radio broadcasts in Russian
.
Despite progress made, Burke was unable to allow the resumption of the special 'Greetings Telegram
' service in November 1946. The Post Office made a substantial profit of £36,191,000 in 1945-46, leading to a move by opposition MPs to lower charges. Burke was caught up in a minor diplomatic spat in April 1947 over BBC speeches by Henry A. Wallace
criticising the United States Government; he insisted that the British Government did not intervene over the subject of talks, and received the support of his own side. Burke left office in October 1947.
into war pensions in April 1949. At the 1950 general election
, in addition to a Conservative Party candidate (their first in the division since 1929), he also faced nominees from the Communist Party of Great Britain
and the Independent Labour Party
. Burke won re-election by 7,049 votes.
faction in the Labour Party issued a pamphlet in September 1951, it attacked Burke for supporting Hugh Gaitskell
's budget in the National Executive despite the fact that his union had put forward a motion at the Trades Union Congress
criticising it. Burke was said to have hit back vigorously at the anonymous author of the pamphlet for disclosing confidential information and for misunderstanding the position of Trade Union members of the National Executive. When the shopworkers' union met at their 1952 conference, Burke was absent through illness; the Bevanites' position was backed by delegates. However the union continued to nominate him and he was re-elected to the National Executive in October of that year at the top of the poll.
at the end of January 1954 calling for large firms to plough profits back into the company and get away from the "'grab all you can' atmosphere". As a fraternal delegate to the Co-operative Party
conference, he made a speech which was interpreted as a criticism of Aneurin Bevan
. Burke also had twice to inquire into the affairs of the Liverpool Exchange
Constituency Labour Party
, which was feuding with its forceful Member of Parliament Bessie Braddock
.
along with 16 Mayors of Lancashire towns, calling for more Government help for the cotton trade. The Burnley petition claimed there was great despondency in the town. Burke left Parliament at the 1959 election
, and died nine years later.
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...
organiser and politician who achieved high office in 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...
and served as 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 Burnley
Burnley (UK Parliament constituency)
Burnley is a borough constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire, which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
for 24 years. He was briefly in the Attlee government as Assistant Postmaster-General
Assistant Postmaster-General
The Assistant Postmaster General is a defunct junior ministerial position in the United Kingdom Government.The title of Postmaster General was abolished under the Post Office Act 1969...
. After leaving the government he concentrated on party work, fighting Bevanites
Bevanism
Bevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the Left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. They were opposed by the Gaitskellites, who are variously described as Centre-left, Social Democrats, or 'moderates' within the Party.Bevanism was...
and serving as Chairman of the National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
.
Early life
Burke was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
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...
, and went to Oulton College in the city. Burke then trained as a teacher and worked as such for several years, before going into commerce in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1918. At the same time he joined the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers, which later became the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom. Consisting of over 405,000 members, USDAW is the UK's fourth largest and fastest growing trade union. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade...
.
Manchester politics
In 1920, Burke became Manchester area organiser for the union. His branch was a large one and Burke obtained its strong support, which saw him elected to the executive council of the 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...
in Manchester; there he was helped by his work in his spare time campaigning for the party. At the 1924 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
, Burke was the Labour candidate for Manchester Blackley
Manchester Blackley (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester, Blackley was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
; the seat was held by Philip Oliver
Philip Oliver (UK politician)
Philip Milner Oliver CBE was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom who served for two short terms as Member of Parliament for Manchester Blackley.-Political career:...
for the Liberal Party
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...
. Burke ended up coming narrowly third as Oliver lost the seat to the Conservative Party
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...
. Burke was thought to have polled well.
Burke was readopted as Labour candidate for the seat in March 1925. Before the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
came, he had fought several municipal elections. The contest was assessed by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as turning on the extent to which Labour encroached on the Liberal vote. Despite his campaigning experience Burke remained in third place, and Oliver regained his seat by 888 votes. Burke stood again in the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
, but was heavily defeated.
Member of Parliament for Burnley
In October 1932, Burke was adopted as Labour Party candidate for BurnleyBurnley (UK Parliament constituency)
Burnley is a borough constituency centred on the town of Burnley in Lancashire, which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, a constituency which had up until 1931 by party leader Arthur Henderson
Arthur Henderson
Arthur Henderson was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and he served three short terms as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1908–1910, 1914–1917 and 1931-1932....
. The sitting member who had beaten Henderson was Vice-Admiral Gordon Campbell VC, a First World War hero elected as a 'National' candidate and not a Conservative; Campbell decided to stand as a Liberal National
National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)
The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
but was still reckoned to have a difficult fight. After a tough fight Burke won by 4,195 votes.
Textile industry
Burnley was based on the textile industry and Burke concentrated on this subject when he arrived in Parliament. He was appointed to the Standing Committee considering the Cotton Spinning Industry Bill in 1936. He referred to the LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
saying "clogs to clogs in three generations", and asked for the appointments to the advisory committee under the Act to include textile workers rather than factory owners. He spoke in an all-night debate on unemployment assistance regulations in July 1936, blaming increased unemployment in Burnley on the National government's destroying the market for textiles in India.
In November 1936, referring to a speech by Sir Arnold Wilson
Arnold Wilson
Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson KCIE CSI CMG DSO was the British civil commissioner in Baghdad in 1918-1920. Wilson became publicly known for his role as the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia during and after the First World War. His high-handedness arguably led to an Iraqi revolt in 1920. He was...
praising Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Burke expressed his disappointment and dismay at "growing appreciation of the totalitarian state" by Conservative MPs. He launched a debate on location of industry later that month, calling for new industries to be diverted from London to areas of high unemployment. Burke regularly called for moves to preserve steady trade with overseas markets for Lancashire textiles, as when he argued in March 1939 in support of a Government Bill to create a fund to stabilise the exchange rate between Britain and China during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
; other Labour MPs had moved the rejection of the Bill.
Labour whip
Burke played an active part in a joint committee of Cotton Trade organisations which was set up in advance of legislation to reorganise the industry in the late 1930s. When the proposals gathered the support of two thirds of the industry, Burke told a luncheon in January 1939 that they should confidently expect Government action. He spoke in favour of the Bill when it was introduced in March. Burke was appointed as a WhipWhip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
for the Labour Party in 1941; however he voted against the Government's proposal to delay the implementation of the Beveridge Report
Beveridge Report
The Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Social Insurance and Allied Services, known commonly as the Beveridge Report was an influential document in the founding of the Welfare State in the United Kingdom...
in February 1943, and was replaced in October of that year.
Labour Party National Executive
At the Labour Party conference in June 1943 Burke moved a resolution on behalf of his union, calling for an adequate rate of the old age pensionPension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
. The resolution was carried. He was a member of the executive of the newly formed Anglo-French Inter-Parliamentary Committee in October 1944, and having been sponsored by the shopworkers' union to be a member of the National Executive Committee
National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affiliated trade unions, the Parliamentary Labour Party and European Parliamentary Labour Party, Constituency Labour Parties,...
of the Labour Party from 1944, in August 1945 he was one of three fraternal delegates representing the Labour Party at the conference of the French Socialist Party
Socialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
. He was a member of many more international delegations during his time on the National Executive.
Assistant Postmaster-General
Burke had an easy re-election at the 1945 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, his result being one of the first to be announced. On 10 August he was appointed by new Prime Minister Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
as Assistant Postmaster-General
Assistant Postmaster-General
The Assistant Postmaster General is a defunct junior ministerial position in the United Kingdom Government.The title of Postmaster General was abolished under the Post Office Act 1969...
, being the spokesman for his department in the House of Commons as the Postmaster-General was the Earl of Listowel
William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel
William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel GCMG, PC , styled Viscount Ennismore between 1924 and 1931, was a British peer and Labour politician...
.
In office, Burke's main job was to return the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
and the General Post Office
General Post Office
General Post Office is the name of the British postal system from 1660 until 1969.General Post Office may also refer to:* General Post Office, Perth* General Post Office, Sydney* General Post Office, Melbourne* General Post Office, Brisbane...
(including the telephone system) to its pre-war function of serving civilian life, including reintroducing some services closed to aid the war effort. In March 1946 Burke and Listowel were able to announce the opening of several schemes to improve the service. Pressure was put on Burke by the Union of Post Office Workers
Union of Communication Workers
The Union of Communication Workers was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries. It was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers by the merger of the Postmen's Federation, Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association and the...
and the Post Office Engineering Union
Post Office Engineering Union
The Post Office Engineering Union was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented engineering staff in the Post Office, mostly working in telecommunications....
to include Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
in the Government's programme of nationalisation, pressure which was ultimately successful. The department expanded in spring 1946 when the Ministry of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
was abolished, and Burke announced the commencement of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio broadcasts in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Despite progress made, Burke was unable to allow the resumption of the special 'Greetings Telegram
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
' service in November 1946. The Post Office made a substantial profit of £36,191,000 in 1945-46, leading to a move by opposition MPs to lower charges. Burke was caught up in a minor diplomatic spat in April 1947 over BBC speeches by Henry A. Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
criticising the United States Government; he insisted that the British Government did not intervene over the subject of talks, and received the support of his own side. Burke left office in October 1947.
Dissenting votes
Out of office Burke retained his membership of the National Executive Committee, but began to dissent from some of the Government's legislation. In December 1948 he opposed the Licensing Bill, along with two other Labour MPs; and he supported a Liberal Party motion for a Royal CommissionRoyal 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...
into war pensions in April 1949. At the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
, in addition to a Conservative Party candidate (their first in the division since 1929), he also faced nominees from 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 the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
. Burke won re-election by 7,049 votes.
Bevanism
Burke topped the poll in the trade union section ballot for the Labour Party National Executive in October 1950. When the BevaniteBevanism
Bevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the Left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. They were opposed by the Gaitskellites, who are variously described as Centre-left, Social Democrats, or 'moderates' within the Party.Bevanism was...
faction in the Labour Party issued a pamphlet in September 1951, it attacked Burke for supporting Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
's budget in the National Executive despite the fact that his union had put forward a motion at 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...
criticising it. Burke was said to have hit back vigorously at the anonymous author of the pamphlet for disclosing confidential information and for misunderstanding the position of Trade Union members of the National Executive. When the shopworkers' union met at their 1952 conference, Burke was absent through illness; the Bevanites' position was backed by delegates. However the union continued to nominate him and he was re-elected to the National Executive in October of that year at the top of the poll.
National Executive Chairman
Playing a decreasing role in Parliament, Burke became chairman of the Labour Party National Executive sub-committee on Commonwealth and Imperial affairs in November 1952. He served as Vice-Chairman of the National Executive in 1952-53, and was then elected as Chairman at the end of September 1953. Burke gave a Party Political BroadcastParty political broadcast
A party political broadcast is a short television or radio broadcast made by a political party....
at the end of January 1954 calling for large firms to plough profits back into the company and get away from the "'grab all you can' atmosphere". As a fraternal delegate to the Co-operative Party
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
conference, he made a speech which was interpreted as a criticism of Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
. Burke also had twice to inquire into the affairs of the Liverpool Exchange
Liverpool Exchange (UK Parliament constituency)
Liverpool Exchange was a borough constituency within the city of Liverpool in England, centred around Liverpool Exchange railway station. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.The...
Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
, which was feuding with its forceful Member of Parliament Bessie Braddock
Bessie Braddock
Elizabeth Margaret Braddock JP , better known as Bessie Braddock, was a British Labour politician...
.
Retirement
Burke retired from the National Executive in 1956, and announced his decision to stand down from his Parliamentary seat at the next election. In December 1958 he presented a petition from BurnleyBurnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
along with 16 Mayors of Lancashire towns, calling for more Government help for the cotton trade. The Burnley petition claimed there was great despondency in the town. Burke left Parliament at the 1959 election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, and died nine years later.