Sir David James Shackleton KCB (21 November 1863 – 1 August 1938) was a cotton worker and trade unionist who became the third Labour Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, following the formation of the Labour Representation Committee. He later became a senior civil servant.
Shackleton was born in Cloughfold near Rawtenstall, Lancashire. He became a cotton worker at the age of nine. He rose through the ranks of the cotton weavers' union and became general secretary of the Textile Factory Workers Association. He was a member of the Darwen Town Council, and member of the Blackburn Chamber of Commerce.
Although the textile workers had not yet joined the LRC, Shackleton was appointed its candidate for the Clitheroe by-election in 1902. Philip Snowden, who had been considered by the Independent Labour Party, withdrew from the race. The Liberals and Conservatives also withdrew, sensing Shackleton's strong lead. He was thus elected unopposed on 1 August 1902. The textile workers' unions affiliated to the LRC shortly afterwards. Shackleton served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party for a period.
Shackleton became chairman of the Trades Union Congress in 1906, maintaining his powerful position in the trade union movement. In 1910, Winston Churchill invited him to join the civil service and Shackleton left Parliament. He quickly rose to the rank of permanent secretary in the new Ministry of Labour and is considered the first man from a working-class background to rise to such a senior position.
References
- "Election intelligence". The Times. No. 36836. London. 2 August 1902. p. 10.
- "No. 27461". The London Gazette. 5 August 1902. p. 5037.
Source
- The Lancashire Giant: David Shackleton, Labour Leader and Civil Servant (2000), Ross M Martin, ISBN 0-85323-934-7
External links
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded bySir Ughtred Kay-Shuttleworth | Member of Parliament for Clitheroe 1902–Dec 1910 |
Succeeded byAlbert Smith |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded byJohn Hodge | Chair of the Labour Party 1904–1905 |
Succeeded byArthur Henderson |
| Trade union offices | ||
| Preceded byJoseph Cross | General Secretary of the Darwen Weavers' Association 1894 – 1907 |
Succeeded byJohn Parkington |
| Preceded byJoseph Nicholas Bell and Allan Gee |
Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour 1907 With: John Hodge |
Succeeded byHerbert Skinner and John Wadsworth |
| Preceded byDavid Holmes | President of the Northern Counties Amalgamated Association of Weavers 1906 – 1910 |
Succeeded byJohn William Ogden |
| Preceded byAlfred Gill | President of the Trades Union Congress 1908 and 1909 |
Succeeded byJames Haslam |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded bynone | Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour 1916–1921 With: Sir James Masterton-Smith (1920–1921) |
Succeeded bySir Horace Wilson |
- 1863 births
- 1938 deaths
- People from Cloughfold
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Presidents of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association
- Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
- Permanent Secretaries of the Ministry of Labour
- UK MPs 1900–1906
- UK MPs 1906–1910
- UK MPs 1910
- Presidents of the Trades Union Congress
- Textile workers
- United Textile Factory Workers' Association-sponsored MPs
- Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
- Companions of the Order of the Bath