Friday 15 July 2016

1269 Samuel Woods

Samuel Woods, published by The Graphic, after  James Russell & Sons, published 13 February 1897 - NPG D8080 - © National Portrait Gallery, London


Constituency :  Ince  1892-5, Walthamstow  1897-1900

Samuel  took  Ince  from  the  Tories  as  a  Lib-Lab  candidate.

Samuel   started  working  in  the  coal  mines  at  7. He  became  a  put  checkweighman  in  1871 and  joined  the  Lancashire  and  Cheshire  Miners  Federation  in  1881. When  this  became  the  Miners  Federation  of  Great  Britain  in  1889  he  became  its  first  vice-president. He  was  a  Baptist  and  temperance  supporter.

Samuel  supported  the  Eight  Hours  Bill  in  Parliament  and  in  1894  was  elected  as  Secretary  of  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  T.U.C.  He  supported  abolition  of  the  LOrds  veto, payment  of  MPs,  land  reform, Home  Rule  and  secondary  education.

Samuel  was  defeated  in  1895  but  came  back  for  Walthamstow  in  a  by-election  in  1897.  He  defeated  the  Tory  candidate  Thomas  Dewar  a  whiskey  brewer. His  campaign  was  organised  by  Herbert  Samuel. He  won  by  279  votes  .He  was  defeated  in  1900  for  his  attitude  to  the  Boer  War.

Samuel  was  generally  supportive  of  the  L.R.C.  but  stayed  a  Liberal  and  was  active  in  the  cross-party  National  Democratic  League.

As  his  health  declined  he  resigned  his  TUC  post  but  retained  his  MFGB  post  to  keep  out  Robert  Smillie.

He  died  in  1915  aged  69.

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