1546 Allen Edwards

Constituency : Denbigh  Boroughs  1906-10; East  Glamorgan 1910-18, East  Ham  South  1918-22 ( National  Democratic  Party ) 1922

Allen  took  Denbigh  Boroughs  from  the  Tories.

Allen  was  a  locally-educated  tailor's  son. Although  his  family  were  Anglican  he  became  a  fervent  Congregationalist  and  Welsh-speaking  champion  of  nonconformist  causes. He  started  work  in  a  solicitor's  office  and  became  a  barrister. He  worked  for  the  trades  unions  in  both  the  Taff  Vale  and  Osborne  cases. He  himself  became  involved  in  union  activities  especially  with  the  dockers  and  was  one  of  John  Burns'  chief  lieutenants  in  the  dock  strike  of  1889.  His  initial  ardour  for  a  general  strike  soon  faded  and  he  became  an  opponent  of  socialism. He  organised  demonstrations  in  Hyde  Park  for  striking  miners  and  laundresses. He  went  into  journalism  as  labour  editor  for  London  newspapers  The  Sun  and  then  The  Echo. He  was  a  member  of  the  Fabian  Society  and  became  a  Progressive  councillor  for  Islington. He  stood  for "Progressive  Labour"  at  Tottenham  in  1895  and  as  a  Liberal  at  Denbigh  Boroughs  in  1900.

Allen  was  defeated  by  8  votes  in  January  1910. In  December  he  stood  for  the  safer  East  Glamorgan  and  won  the  seat  despite  the  intervention  of  a  Labour  candidate.

In  1912  Allen  represented  the  Dockers  Union  at  the  Titanic  enquiry.

Allen  became  a  staunch  supporter  of  Lloyd  George  after  1916  and  used  his  connections  to  rally  Labour  support  for  the  war  effort. He  supported  the  British  Workers  League  and  when  his  own  seat  was  abolished  stood  for  them  under  the  new  name  National  Democratic  Party  in  1918.  Allen  seems  to  have  received  the  coupon  but  he  was  still  opposed  by  the  Unionists  and  by  Labour's  Arthur  Henderson.

Allen  was  chairman  of  the  NDP  in  Parliament  from  1918  to  1920. Thereafter, it  quickly  ran  out  of  steam  and  wound itself  up  in  1922, its  remaining  MPs  joining  Lloyd  George's  National  Liberal  organisation.

Allen  defended  the  seat  as  a  National  Liberal  but  came  third  behind  Labour  and  an  Asquithian  Liberal.

Allen  remained  with  the  Liberal  Party  until  1931  when  he  resigned  his  membership.

He  died  in  1938  aged  69.