1405 William Steadman

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  Constituency : Stepney 1898-1900, Finsbury Central  1906-10

William  took  Stepney  on  the  death  of  the  Tory  incumbent  as  a  Liberal - Labour  candidate .He  won  by  20 votes.

William  was  born  in Poplar  and  started  work  as  a  barge  builder  in  his  teens.He  joined  the  River  Thames  Barge  Builders  Union  and  was  its  general  secretary  from  1879  to  1908.He  was  elected  to  the  LCC  as  a  Progressive  in  1891. He  was  also a  member  of  the  Fabian  Society. He  stood  unsuccessfully  at  Mid  Kent  in  1892  and  Hammersmith  in  1895.

In  1899  William  was  elected  to  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  T.U.C. He  was  also  a member  of  the  International  Arbitration  League.

William  was  decisively  defeated  in  1900. He  became  President  of  the  Committee  in  1902.  He  chaired  the  first  conference  of  the  Labour  Representation  Committee  but  quit  when  asked  to  resign  from  the  Liberal  Party. In  1904  he  became  Parliamentary  Secretary  of  the  T|U.C.

In  1906  William  returned  to  Parliament  for  Finsbury  Central.

William  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  House  on  labour  issues, taking  up  cases  from  well outside  his  constituencies.

In  1911  William  gave  notice  that  he  intended  to  retire  from  his  T.U.C. post  but  he  died before  that  came into  effect. He  was  60.