Willie Brooke
Encyclopedia
Willie Brooke was a British
Trade Union
administrator and Labour Party
politician.
Brooke, the son of a woolsorter, was born in Bradford
. He went to Carlton Street Secondary School; his first job was as an office boy for the Amalgamated Society of Dyers. His work for the Society qualified him for a scholarship to the London Labour College where he studied politics and economics.
A bachelor, in 1925 Brooke was elected to Bradford City Council as a councillor. He became Chairman of the Governors of his old school, and took a particular interest in 'special schools' for the physically disabled.
At the 1929 general election
, Brooke was elected as Member of Parliament
(MP) for Dunbartonshire
. He lost that seat in 1931
, but returned to Parliament
in the 1935 general election
for Batley and Morley
. He suffered poor health from 1938, and stayed at Grassington
in North Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight
in order to recover, but during the Sudeten Crisis he returned to Westminster.
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...
administrator 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.
Brooke, the son of a woolsorter, was born in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
. He went to Carlton Street Secondary School; his first job was as an office boy for the Amalgamated Society of Dyers. His work for the Society qualified him for a scholarship to the London Labour College where he studied politics and economics.
A bachelor, in 1925 Brooke was elected to Bradford City Council as a councillor. He became Chairman of the Governors of his old school, and took a particular interest in 'special schools' for the physically disabled.
At the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, Brooke was elected 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 Dunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Dunbartonshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950...
. He lost that seat in 1931
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 returned to Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in the 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
for Batley and Morley
Batley and Morley (UK Parliament constituency)
Batley and Morley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the towns of Batley and Morley in West Yorkshire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
. He suffered poor health from 1938, and stayed at Grassington
Grassington
Grassington is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England.The town is situated in Wharfedale around from Bolton Abbey and is surrounded by limestone scenery...
in North Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
in order to recover, but during the Sudeten Crisis he returned to Westminster.