Clement Edwards
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(Allen) Clement Edwards (7 June 1869 – 23 June 1938), usually known as Clem, was a Welsh lawyer, journalist, trade union activist and Liberal Party politician.
Family and education
Edwards was born in Knighton in Radnorshire, the son of a master tailor and draper, one of seven children. He was educated at the local school in Knighton, undertook private studies and also attended evening classes at Birkbeck Institute in London.[1] In 1890, Edwards married Fanny Emerson, the daughter of the superintendent of Trinity House, Great Yarmouth. She died in 1920. Two years later Edwards was remarried, to Alice May Parker, a political colleague[2] in the NDP. They had one son, John Charles Gordon Clement Edwards (1924–2004) who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the Second World War and later became a solicitor.[3]
In religion, although born into an Anglican family, Edwards became a Congregationalist and was considered a typical Welsh-speaking champion of nonconformist causes.[4]
The law
Edwards began his law career working in a solicitor's office. In 1899, he was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple.[5] As a barrister specialising in trade union and labour law he was briefed in some of the most important cases of the day concerning the rights of trade unions to engage in industrial and political action. He was drawn to trade union cases and in the Taff Vale case of 1901 he was one of Counsel briefed on behalf of the trade union. He was also briefed in another railway action, the Osborne case, concerning trade union support for MPs[6]
Trade Union activism
Edward's law work for the unions strengthened his political and social awareness and from the 1880s, he was involved in the formation of trade unions for unskilled workers. Despite his legal connections to the railway unions, Edwards developed a special connection with the dock workers and was at one time assistant secretary of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union.[7] He was also general secretary of the federation of dockland and transport unions. Edwards had a flair for mass organisation. In the great dock strike of 1889, he was one of John Burns' lieutenants in the organisation of the dispute and[8] in 1893, he organised a mass demonstration in Hyde Park in aid of miners and their families undergoing severe hardship and was also responsible for another demonstration at the same venue by 30,000 laundresses.[9] During his time working for the dock labourers, Edwards was to play a leading part in the public inquiry which looked into the sinking of the RMS Titanic.[10] He put the miners' case following the infamous 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster in which 439 men died. But Edwards never conceived of the trade unions as the industrial arm of the socialist movement. He understood them as the working-man's defence against unfair employers and a protection against an economic system which produced personal poverty, immorality, and misery.
Politics
From trade union activism, Edwards expanded into political activity, including radical journalism, becoming labour editor of the London newspaper The Sun in 1893 and then The Echo in 1894. He then transferred to the Daily News where he held the title Special Commissioner.[11] Edwards was always active in the Welsh radical tradition and was strongly opposed to a separate Labour Party.[12]
Edwards was a member of the Fabian Society[13] and in local politics he stood for election as Progressive Party candidate for the London School Board in 1894 in Islington before being elected to Islington Vestry to represent Thornhill ward in 1898.[14] [15] [16] He stood unsuccessfully for parliament as a Liberal in 1895 for Tottenham[17] and in 1900 for Denbigh Boroughs[18] before winning in Denbigh in 1906.[19] He stood for re-election there in January 1910 but lost by just eight votes.[20] However, he was quickly selected for another Welsh seat, this time with a more secure Liberal vote, and in December 1910, he was elected as MP for the mining seat of East Glamorganshire in a three-cornered contest against Unionist and Labour opposition.[21]
The coming of the First World War presented the Liberal Party with many difficult political decisions over essentially illiberal legislation such as the Defence of the Realm Act, which gave the government wide-ranging powers and on the question of conscription. As W. Llewelyn Williams, Liberal MP for Carmarthen put it, "...it would be a tragedy worse than war if, in order to win the war, England ceased to be the beacon of freedom and liberty she has been in the past."[22] However it was hard to stand up against the tide of patriotic fervour sweeping the country and this infected Edwards as it did many others on the radical wing of the party.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hon. George Thomas Kenyon | 1,862 | 51.5 | ||
Liberal | Allen Clement Edwards | 1,752 | 48.5 | ||
Majority | 110 | 3.0 | |||
Turnout | 3,614 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Allen Clement Edwards | 2,533 | 56.4 | +7.9 | |
Conservative | Hon. George Thomas Kenyon | 1,960 | 43.6 | −7.9 | |
Majority | 573 | 12.8 | 15.8 | ||
Turnout | 94.5 | +7.1 | |||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Hon. William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore | 2,438 | 50.1 | ||
Liberal | Allen Clement Edwards | 2,430 | 49.9 | ||
Majority | 8 | 0.2 | |||
Turnout | 4,868 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Allen Clement Edwards | 9,088 | 46.9 | ||
Conservative | Frank Hall Gaskell | 5,603 | 28.9 | ||
Labour | Charles Butt Stanton | 4,675 | 24.1 | n/a | |
Majority | 3,485 | 18.0 | |||
Turnout | 19,366 | 80.8 | |||
Liberal hold | Swing |
National Democratic Party
With former union leader Ben Tillett and other Labour men from a trade union background, Edwards backed David Lloyd George, notably in efforts to prevent industrial unrest and keep the war effort on track. In 1916, the British Workers League was formed as an organisation for patriotic labour to get behind the war effort and for commercial preference within the British Empire.[27] Edwards was drawn to the League which changed its name to the National Democratic Party for the 1918 general election. The party won nine seats at the election. Edwards was the NDP candidate for East Ham South where he was elected as a supporter of the Coalition government in 1918. He may have been granted the Coalition coupon but was opposed by a Unionist and his Labour opponent was Arthur Henderson the future leader of the Labour Party.[28] Edwards was the chairman of the NDP in Parliament from 1918 to 1920. The development of the Labour Party, post-war industrial unrest of which Edwards continued to disapprove and the increasing unpopularity of the Lloyd George coalition, combined to undermine the NDP's appeal to patriotic labour and the party was wound up. Edwards defended East Ham South at the 1922 general election as a National Liberal supporter of Lloyd George, but was pushed into third place in a three-cornered contest won by Labour's Alfred Barnes.[29]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
National Democratic | Allen Clement Edwards | 7,972 | 42.8 | n/a | |
Unionist | Robert Frederick Frank Hamlett | 5,661 | 30.3 | n/a | |
Labour | Rt Hon. Arthur Henderson | 5,024 | 26.9 | n/a | |
Majority | 2,311 | 12.5 | n/a | ||
Turnout | 57.5 | n/a | |||
National Democratic win |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alfred John Barnes | 10,566 | 48.1 | +21.2 | |
Liberal | Edward Smallwood | 6,567 | 30.0 | n/a | |
National Liberal | Allen Clement Edwards | 4,793 | 21.9 | −20.9 | |
Majority | 3,999 | 18.1 | |||
Turnout | 66.3 | ||||
Labour gain from National Democratic | Swing | n/a |
Later life
Edwards did not stand for Parliament again. After the demise of the NDP he re-joined the Liberal Party. He remained a champion of union rights during the industrial turmoil of the 1920s but took little part in public or political affairs after losing his Parliamentary seat.[32] He remained a Liberal Party member until 1931, when he lost faith with the party leaders and resigned his membership.[33] He continued in the law until retirement.
Death
Edwards died of cancer at Manor House Hospital, Golders Green, on 23 June 1938.[34] He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.[35]
Publications
- Railway Nationalization, Methuen & Co., 1898
- The Children's Labour Question, Daily News, 1899
- (Jointly with George Haw) No Room to Live: the plaint of overcrowded London, Wells Gardner & Co., London, 1900 (reprinted from the Daily News)
- The Compensation Act, 1906: Who pays? to whom, to what, and when it applies, Chatto & Windus, 1907
- Articles and journalism on labour, economics, industry and politics
References
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ Christopher Langdon, Square toes and formal, Roundtuit Publishing, 2006 p48
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ The Times, 15 June 1899 p11
- ^ The Times, 25 June 1938 p14
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ The Times, 25 June 1938 p14
- ^ http://lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk/resources/sites/84.234.17.197-4611481cc83403.08117414/Welsh+Liberal+MPs+elected+in+1906.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Christopher Langdon, Square toes and formal, Roundtuit Publishing, 1989 p48
- ^ Who was Who, OUP 2007
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ Michael Freeden (ed.), Minutes of the Rainbow Circle: 1894–1924, Royal Historical Society, 2006 p367
- ^ "Progressive Notes". Holloway & Hornsey Press. 5 May 1899. p. 5.
- ^ "A Storm in A Teacup". Islington Gazette. 7 February 1900. p. 2.
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ The Times, 23 July 1895 p.6
- ^ The Times, 2 October 1900 p8
- ^ http://lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk/resources/sites/84.234.17.197-4611481cc83403.08117414/Welsh+Liberal+MPs+elected+in+1906.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1910;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p89
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1911;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p101
- ^ quoted in David Dutton,A History of the Liberal Party in the 20th Century; Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 p60
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1901
- ^ British parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)
- ^ Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1916
- ^ The Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 101 1911 Section
- ^ Chris Cook, Sources in British Political History, 1900–1951; Macmillan, 1975 pp 31–32
- ^ The Times House of Commons, 1919;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p29
- ^ F W S Craig,British Parliamentary Election Results; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p132
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ^ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
- ^ The Times, 24 June 1938 p1
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10
- ^ The Times, 24 June 1938 p1
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Clement Edwards
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs 1906 – January 1910 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Member of Parliament for East Glamorganshire December 1910 – 1918 | Constituency abolished |
New constituency | Member of Parliament for East Ham South 1918 – 1922 | Succeeded by |