William “Willie” Lunn JP (1 November 1872 - 16 May 1942) was the Member of Parliament for Rothwell between 1918 and 1942.
Prior to his entry into politics, Lunn was a coal miner from the age of 12 and worked in Rothwell Haigh and Middleton Colliery. Lunn was active in the trade union movement during his time as a coal miner and helped found the Rothwell branch of the Independent Labour Party. Lunn also served on the Rothwell Urban District Council; becoming its chairman between 1915 and 1917. After his election victory in the Rothwell constituency, Lunn would go on to hold several roles in goverment during the 1920s and 30s, including Secretary for Overseas Trade, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.
Biography
Early life & coal mining
William Lunn, or “Willie” as he was known, was born on 1st November 1872 in Rothwell to Thomas Lunn, a miner and trade unionist, and his wife Mary[1] (née Jackson).[Original research][n. 1] Lunn was the eldest of eight children[1] (his siblings included Jane (b.1876), Harriet (b.1881), James J. (b.1882) and Nelly (b.1895)) and the family lived on Butcher Lane.[Original research][n. 2] Lunn attended Rothwell Board School.[1]
At the age of twelve, Lunn began working at Rothwell Haigh colliery. When he was sixteen, Lunn was “victimised” for leading a pony drivers strike at the colliery. In November 1889, Lunn moved to Middleton Colliery. Lunn succeeded his father as chairman of the Rothwell miners’ branch of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association when he was nineteen. In 1900, he was elected checkweighman at Middleton Colliery, which he would continue to do until December 1918.[1]
Local politics
Lunn was a councillor for the Rothwell Urban District Council from 1900.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Taylor | 222 | 61.7 | ||
| I.L.P | William Lunn Jr. | 138 | 38.3 | |
| Majority | 84 | 23.4 | ||
Member of Parliament
Holmfirth
Lunn unsuccessfully ran for the Holmfirth parliamentary by-election in 1912.[4][5] The Liberal Party were prepared to not contest the seat for a Labour candidate, however they would not do so for Lunn. He was, according to the Labour-affiliated newspaper the Daily Herald, “too much value as a fighting force, too uncompromising in his opposition to capitalist greed, too difficult to be put off with promises instead of solid concessions.”[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | S. Arnold | 4749 | 42.0 | |
| Unionist | R. Ellis | 3379 | 29.8 | |
| Labour | W. Lunn | 3195 | 28.2 | |
| Majority | 1370 | 12.2 | ||
| Turnout | ~11,323 | 86.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 13,035 | |||
Lunn was described as “the albest of Labour men in the district” by a Leeds newspaper in 1914.[7] He was considered for the next general election by the Holmfirth constituency Labour Party[8] and was invited to contest the next general election by the Wakefield constituency Labour Party,[9] however the election never took place due to the outbreak of the First World War.[10]
Rothwell
1918 - 1921
Lunn was put forward by “the miners” as a nominee for the Labour Party's candidate for Rothwell and, as he was the only nominee, was selected on 19th January 1918.[11]
- 1918 Campaign Flyers
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At a meeting in Newton Hill Council School, in Stanley, on 25 November 1918, Lunn argued against revolution, arguing that a revolution in the minds of people could prevent further bloodshed; he criticised the timing of the election as it excluded some soldiers from voting; he also criticised the government's treatment of the soldiers in general, citing examples insufficient housing support and allowances for their dependents; he argued for disarmament and the end of conscription; he called for national ownership of mines, railways, and factories for public benefit; and advocated for a Ministry of Health, education grants and more housing. Lunn opposed the Coalition government and thought that Labour Party M.Ps had no place in it. He described his opponents as "two candidates [...] running after one hare" because the Tory candidate was a Coalition candidate and the Liberal candidate was a supporter of the Coalition government.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 9998 | 46.4 | |
| Unionist (coaltion) | H.C.B. Wilson | 6621 | 30.8 | |
| Liberal | J.A. Yonge | 4909 | 22.8 | |
| Majority | 3377 | 15.6 | ||
| Turnout | ~21,528 | 63.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 33,899 | |||
1922
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 17,831 | 62.8 | +16.4 |
| Unionist | A.N. Braithwaite | 10,580 | 37.2 | +6.4 |
| Majority | 7251 | 25.6 | +10 | |
| Turnout | ~28,411 | 78.4 | +14.9 | |
| Registered electors | 36,227 | |||
1923
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 15,115 | 66.0 | +3.2 |
| Liberal | B.P. Wilson | 7,788 | 34.0 | |
| Majority | 7,327 | 32.0 | +6.4 | |
| Turnout | ~22,903 | 60.9 | −17.5 | |
| Registered electors | 37,611 | |||
1924-28
- 1924 Campaign Flyers
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 16,540 | 61.8 | −4.2 |
| Liberal | B.P. Wilson | 10,240 | 38.2 | +4.2 |
| Majority | 6,300 | 23.6 | −8.4 | |
| Turnout | ~26,780 | 69.3 | +8.4 | |
| Registered electors | 38,635 | |||
1929 - 1930
- 1929 Campaign Flyers
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 27,320 | 61.7 | −0.1 |
| Unionist | J.W. Harrison | 8,799 | 19.9 | |
| Liberal | H. Holdsworth | 8,141 | 18.4 | −19.8 |
| Majority | 18,521 | 41.8 | +18.2 | |
| Turnout | ~44,260 | 79.2 | +9.9 | |
| Registered electors | 55,869 | |||
1931 - 1934
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 24,897 | 52.9 | −8.8 |
| Conservative | C.H. Stringer | 22,198 | 47.1 | +27.2 |
| Majority | 2,699 | 5.8 | −36.0 | |
| Turnout | ~47,095 | 79.9 | +0.7 | |
| Registered electors | 58,974 | |||
1935 - 1942
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | W. Lunn | 31,472 | 64.5 | +11.6 |
| Conservative | Mrs G. Beaumont | 17,352 | 35.5 | −11.6 |
| Majority | 14,120 | 29.0 | +23.2 | |
| Turnout | ~48,824 | 75.4 | −4.5 | |
| Registered electors | 64,730 | |||
Death
Lunn died on the 16th May 1942, while in office. An obituary in The Science and Art of Mining described him as “essentially a Rothwell man.”[14]
Notes
- ↑ The only William Lunn born in the area in 1872 has a mother with the maiden name Jackson. See: ‘William Lunn’ (1872). Transcript of birth certificate for William Lunn, quater 4 1872. Vol 9B, p.332. Hunslet District.
- ↑ See: ‘William Lunn’ (1891) Census return for Butcher Lane, Leeds, Hunslet subdistrict, Yorkshire [West Riding]. Public Record Office: PRO RG12/3668, folio 27, p.17. and ‘William Lunn’ (1901) Census return for Butcher Lane, Leeds, Hunslet subdistrict, Yorkshire [West Riding]. Public Record Office: PRO RG13/4199, folio 33, p.24.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (Bellamy and Saville, 1972, p.255)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (Daily Herald, 1912)
- ↑ (Rothwell Times, 1901)
- ↑ (Rossendale Free Press, 1912)
- ↑ Dundee Evening Telegraph, 1912)
- ↑ (Craig, 1974, p.437)
- ↑ (Skyrack Courier, 1914)
- ↑ (Yorkshire Evening News, 1914)
- ↑ (Labour Leader, 1914)
- ↑ (Rubinstein, 2003, p.104)
- ↑ (Leeds Mercury, 1918)
- ↑ (Wakefield Express, 1918)
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 (Craig, 1969, p.524)
- ↑ (The Science and Art of Mining, 1942)
- Bellamy, J.M. and Saville, J. (eds) (1972) Dictionary of Labour Biography. Vol. II. London: Macmillan.
- Craig, F.W.S. (1969) British parliamentary election results, 1918-1949. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. Available at: http://archive.org/details/britishparliamen0000crai (Accessed: 8 June 2024).
- Craig, F.W.S. (ed.) (1974) British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
- Daily Herald (1912) ‘Holmfirth’, 17 June, p. 12.
- Dundee Evening Telegraph (1912) ‘Retrial Of Liberal M.P.’, 5 June, p. 1.
- Labour Leader (1914) ‘Wakefield Labour Candidate’, 26 February, p. 10.
- Leeds Mercury (1918) ‘A Rothwell Miner’, 22 January, p.4.
- Rossendale Free Press (1912) ‘Holmfirth Election’, 22 June, p. 8.
- Rothwell Times (1901) ‘Rothwell District Council Election’, 29 March. Available at: https://archive.org/details/1901rothwelltimescomplete_201910/page/n33/
- Rubinstein, W.D. (2003) Twentieth-Century Britain: A Political History. Macmillan Education UK.
- Skyrack Courier (1914) ‘Nondescript Notes’, 27 February, p. 5.
- The Science and Art of Mining (1942) ‘Obituary’, 30 May, p. 325. Available at: http://www.dmm.org.uk/news19/9420530i.htm (Accessed: 9 June 2024)
- Wakefield Express (1918) ‘Mr. W. Lunn’s Candidature’, 30 November, p. 3.
- Yorkshire Evening News (1914) ‘Labour and Holmfirth’, 19 January, p. 3.
See also
| People | ||
| By era | Medieval | None |
| 16th Century | None | |
| 17th Century | Katherine Earle | |
| 18th Century | None | |
| 19th Century | None | |
| 20th Century | Joan de Carteret, Rose Lund, William Lunn | |
| 21st Century | None | |
External links
- William Lunn's contributions to Parliament in Hansard
- William Lunn on Wikipedia
- William Lunn on Woodlesford: The Story of a Station