Constituency : Sheffield Brightside 1897-1900, Burnley 1906-10
Frederick took over at Sheffield Brightside on the death of Anthony Mundella. He was a Liberal-Labour candidate. The ILP strongly criticised him, implicitly supporting his Tory opponent.
Frederick was from Lincolnshire where he became a compositor. He joined the Typographical Association and was President of the T.U.C. by 1886. In 1997 he won a seat on Hull Corporation. He joined the Board of Trade as a journalist in the Labour Department. He stood in Hull Central in 1892 and 1895. He was a Unitarian.
Frederick's maiden speech was on the need for cheap trains for workmen. He supported the eight hour day and payment of MPs. He was in favour of compulsory purchase for housing and in 1900 said in a debate on the Housing of the Working Classes Amendment Bill, "We shall have to assert the sound economic and sacred principle that land does not exist for private convenience and profit, and that wherever that private convenience or profit runs athwart the very necessities of the people in the matter of housing, the landlords will have to sell their land at a fair price".
Frederick was a member of the International Arbitration League and was its secretary from 1908 to 1910. Under his leadership it became less radical.
Although Frederick had pursued a cautious line on the Boer War, he was still perceived as pro-Boer and narrowly defeated in 1900.
Frederick returned to Parliament for Burnley in 1906 but lost in January 1910. He made numerous unsuccessful attempts to return after that - Darlington ( Dec 1910 ), Holderness ( 1918 ), South Dorset ( 1922 ) and Reading ( 1923 ) .
He died in 1937 aged 80.
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