James Bell (Ormskirk MP)

For other people named James Bell, see James Bell (disambiguation).

James Bell (1872 – 28 December 1955) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.

The son of John Bell, a coalminer, and his wife Margaret née Guy, Bell initially worked as a weaver in Nelson, Lancashire, in one of the town's mills. He became involved in trade union activities, leading to his sacking on three occasions. He subsequently moved to the town of Oldham, becoming secretary of the Oldham Weavers' Association in 1905, a post he held for 41 years. He was the first president of the Oldham Labour Party, and attempted to gain election to the Borough Council without success.

In 1918 he was elected as member of parliament for Ormskirk, the first non Conservative to be elected for this seat since its creation in 1885. This was principally due to a divided Conservative vote between the Coalition Conservatives and the candidate of the National Farmers Union. Bell served only one term in parliament, losing his seat at the next election in 1922.

He continued his union activities: in 1924 he was appointed secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations, and was subsequently secretary of the United Textile Factory Workers Association, and in 1930 took part in a trade mission to China.

He died, aged 83, in an Oldham hospital in 1955.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by James Bell

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Arthur Stanley	Member of Parliament for Ormskirk 1918 – 1922	Succeeded by Francis Blundell
Trade union offices
Preceded by A. Birtles	Secretary of the Oldham Weavers', Reelers' and Winders' Association 1905 – 1946	Succeeded by James Milhench
Preceded by J. Kuypers	Secretary of the International Federation of Textile Workers' Associations 1925 – 1936	Succeeded by J. Kuypers
Preceded by Joseph Cross	Secretary of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association 1925 – 1931	Succeeded by Cephas Speak
Preceded by James Hindle	President of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association 1937 – 1947	Succeeded by Carey Hargreaves
Preceded by Ebby Edwards and John Marchbank	Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1929 With: James Thomas Brownlie	Succeeded by A. A. H. Findlay and Albert Shaw