919 William Craig

Constituency : North  Staffordshire  1880-86

William  recaptured  one  of  the  North  Staffordshire  seats  from  the  Tories.

William  was  a  Scottish  mining  engineer  who  owned coal  and  ironstone  mines  in  the  area. In  the  1880s  he  bought  a  colliery  in  Chirk.

William's  maiden  speech  in  1880  on  the  Employers  Liability  Bill  was  a  long  one  calling  for  more  of  an  insurance  principle  in  the  legislation.  William  had  built  many  cottage  homes  for  his  workers   and  championed  the  idea  in  parliament. In  1883  he  spoke  in  favour  of  Sunday  closing  of  pubs  in  Durham  which  he  expected  to  result  in  improved  productivity  on  a  Monday.

William  later  converted  to  Catholicism.

He  died  in  1924  aged  96.