1295 John Burns

Constituency : Battersea  1892-1918

John  took  over  from  Ocatavius  Morgan  at  Battersea.

John  was  the  son  of  a  Scottish  fitter. He  had  a  rudimentary  education  then  became  an engineering  apprentice  while  studying  at  night  schools. He  studied  Owen, Mill  and  Cobbett and  became  a  socialist. He  began  speaking  in  public  , helped  by  a  strong  physique  and  voice and  was  arrested  after  addressing  an  open  air  meeting  in  1878.  In  1881  he  founded  a branch of  the  Marxist-leaning  Social  Democratic  Federation  in  Battersea. He  then  joined  a  ship  and worked for  a  year  in  Western  Africa  for  the  United  Africa  Company. In  1885  he  stood  as  an SDF  candidate  in  Nottingham  West.  The  following  year  he  took  part  in  a  protest  against unemployment  which  got  out  of hand ; he  encouraged  the  rioters  to  loot  bakeries. In  1887  he was  arrested  for  resisting  police  attempts  to  break  up a  gathering  in  Trafalgar  Square  and imprisoned  for  6  weeks. In  1889  he  left  the  SDF   after  a  disagreement  with  Hyndman  and  played  a  leading  part  in  the  London Dock  Strike  despite  not  being  a  docker  himself  but  active  in  the  Amalgamated  Engineers Union  instead. He  got  a  lot  of  kudos  when  the  dockers  gained  their  demands. That  same  year  he  was  elected  to  London  County  Council  as  a  Progressive where  he  argued  for  contracts  to  be  worked  under  trade  union  conditions  and  for  maintaining a  direct  labour  force. This  resulted  in  the  building  of  the Latchmere  estate. Beatrice  Webb  didn't  like  him commenting  that  "it  is  pitiful  to  see  this  splendid  man a  prey  to  egotism  of  the  most  sordid  kind".

In  1892  the  Battersea  Liberal  Association  accepted  John as  their  candidate  recognising  the  strength  of  his  machine. He  repudiated  calls for  a  separate  party and  was  happy  to  be  a  Lib-Lab.  He  was  at  the  meeting  that  established  the  Labour  Representation  Committee  but  refused  to  sign  up  to  it, He  was  strongly  opposed  to  the  Boer War.

In  1894 John  received  facial  injuries  from  being  hit  by  the  ball  while  watching  a  cricket match.

In  1897  John  accepted  Lloyd  George's  invitation  to  speak  at  a  quarrymen's  rally. He  later  became  very  hostile  towards  him.

John  supported  female  suffrage.

In  1905  Campbell-Bannerman  appointed   John  to  the  Cabinet  as  President  of  the  Local Government  Board  to  strengthen  the  alliance  with  Labour. Despite  his  previous  reputation  John was  actually  becoming  quite  reactionary  and  often  acted  as  a  brake  on  the  government's social  reforms. He  was  a  puritan  who  believed  that  poverty  was  often  the result  of  individual failure  and  he  was  strongly  opposed  to  smoking, drinking  and  gambling. He  did  not  favour   Webb's  plans  for  restructuring  the  poor  law  which  he saw  as  outdoor  relief. He  opposed  the  idea  of  a  welfare  state; government  should  not  "supersede  the  mother, and  they  should  not  by  over-attention  sterilise her  initiative  and   capacity  to  do  what  every  mother  should  be able  to  do for  herself". He  was  bitterly  attacked  for  these  attitudes  by  old  comrades. Webb  called  him  " a  monstrosity, an  enormous  personal  vanity  feeding  on  the  deference  and  flattery  yielded  to  patronage  and  power".

John  was  responsible  for  the  Housing  and  Town  Planning  Act  of  1909  and  the  1910  Census  Bill  but  generally  lacked  imagination  and  boldness. He  was  very  reliant  on  his  officials'  advice.

In  1914  John  was  switched  to  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade. He  did  not  hold  the  office for  long. He  resigned  when  Britain  decided  to  go  to  war. John  enjoyed  military  parades  but his  commitment  to  pacifism  was  too  strong.  He  declared    it  is  my  especial  duty  to  dissociate  myself  and  the  principles  I  hold  and  the  trusteeship  for  the  working  classes  I  carry  from  such  a  universal  crime  as  the  contemplated  war  will  be".  He  did  support  the  diversion  of  police  recruits  into  the  army.  He  remained  in  Parliament  until  1918  but  was  largely  inactive.  He  was  appalled  by  Lloyd  George's  ascent  to  power  , saying  he  "degrades  by  his  disloyal, dishonest  and  lying  presence  the  greatest  office  in  the  State. The  Gentlemen  of  England  serve  under  the  greatest  cad  in  Europe".

Aware  of   the  state  of   public  opinion  and  lacking  support  from  either  the  Liberal  or  Labour  parties  John  decided  to  stand  down  in  1918.

In  1919  John  was  willed  an  annuity  by  Andrew  Carnegie  which  left  him  financially independent. He  became  a  serious  bibliophile  and  an  expert  on  London  history.

He  died  in  1943  aged  82.