Ben Tillett - Citizendia

Ben Tillett.

Benjamin Tillett (September 11, 1860–January 27, 1943) was a British socialist, trade union leader and politician. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1860 ( MDCCLX) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year starting Events 98 - Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming He was born in Bristol and began his working life as a sailor, before travelling to London and taking up work as a docker. Bristol ( ˈbrɪstəl is a city, Unitary authority and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

Trade union activities

He began his career as a trade union organiser in 1887 by forming the Tea Operatives and General Labourers Union at Tilbury docks. Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. Tillett and his union, renamed the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union, rose to prominence during the London Dock Strike (1889), although the strike itself began without union involvement. The Dock Wharf Riverside and General Labourers Union (1889-1922 was a British Trade union. The London Dock Strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. Tillett also played a prominent role as a strike leader in dock strikes in 1911 and 1912. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting He was instrumental in forming the National Transport Workers' Federation in 1910, along with Havelock Wilson of the Seamen's Union. 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 Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Joseph Havelock Wilson ( 16 August 1858 ? &ndash 16 April 1929) was a Trade union leader Liberal Party politician and The National Union of Seamen was the principal Trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990

Tillett's union was the largest of the unions which came together in 1922 to form the Transport and General Workers' Union, however, it was Tillett's deputy, Ernest Bevin, rather than Tillett himself, who took the major role in bringing about the amalgamation. Ernest Bevin ( 9 March 1881 - 14 April 1951) was a British labour leader politician and statesman best known for his time as Bevin became the General Secretary of the new union, but Tillett held the post of International and Political Secretary until 1931 and retained his seat on the General Council of the Trades Union Congress until 1932. The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions parties churches or associations The Trades Union Congress (TUC is a national trade union centre, a federation of Trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade

Political career

Tillett was a member of the Fabian Society and a founding member of the Independent Labour Party, but subsequently joined the Social Democratic Federation instead. The Fabian Society is a British Intellectual Socialist movement whose purpose is to advance the principles of Social democracy via Gradualist See Independent Labor Party for the Political party in Burundi, Independent Labour Group for the Irish party and Labour candidates The Social Democratic Federation (SDF was established as Britain's first organised socialist Political party by H He also joined the Bristol Socialist Society in the 1880s, when he often travelled to that city. The Bristol Socialist Society was a political organisation in South West England.

Tillett began a political career as an alderman on the London County Council from 1892 to 1898 and was a Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1917 to 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931 for Salford North. London County Council (LCC was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889-1965 existence and the first London-wide general municipal Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Salford North was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Salford in Greater Manchester.

Tillett courted controversy with some of his supporters in the labour movement through his outspoken support of Britain's involvement in the First World War, an issue which split the Labour Party. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All In article in the July 3, 1915 issue of Illustrated London News G. K. Chesterton explained the reason this way:

It is the moderate Socialists who are Pacifists; the fighting Socialists are patriots. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936 was an influential English writer of the early 20th century Mr. Ben Tillett would have been regarded by Mr. Ramsay Macdonald as a mere firebrand; but it is precisely because Mr. James Ramsay MacDonald ( 12 October 1866 &ndash 9 November 1937) was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United Tillet was ready to go on fighting Capitalism that he is ready to go on fighting Krupp. It is precisely because Mr. Macdonald was weak in his opposition to domestic tyrants, that he is weak in his opposition to foreign ones. The wobblers who wanted a one-sided arbitration to end the strikes would to-day accept a one-sided arbitration to end the battles. But the men who wanted strikes want nothing but shells. That great artist, Mr. Will Dyson, laid aside the lethal pencil with which he had caricatured the sweaters and the middlemen, and sharpened a yet deadlier one to draw all the devils in Prussia. William (Will Henry Dyson ( 3 September 1880 – 21 January 1938) was an Australian illustrator and political cartoonist

His autobiography Memories and Reflections was published in 1931. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Trade union activities

Political career

Further reading