Ben Riley (MP)
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Riley was a British
Labour Party
politician.
Born in Halifax
, Riley was the son of a stonemason. He started work aged 9, and was apprenticed
to the bookbinding
trade. He served as a journeyman
in Bath, Brighton
and London, eventually starting his own business in Huddersfield
in 1896. At the same time he was employed as a lecturer by the Land Restoration League
, visiting agricultural labourers in various counties. He married Lucy Rushworth of Halifax, and they had one son.
Riley was a founding member of the Independent Labour Party
, and was elected to Huddersfield School Board in 1896 and to Huddersfield Town Council in 1904.
At the 1918 general election
Riley stood as the Labour Party's candidate in the Dewsbury constituency
, but failed to be elected. At the next election in 1922
Riley won the seat, but lost it the following year
. In 1924
he regained the seat. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
to Noel Buxton, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
in the Labour Government of 1929-1931. At the 1931 general election
he lost his seat, along with many other Labour Party MPs.
Riley returned to the Commons at the 1935 general election
. He held the seat until the 1945 general election
, when he retired.
He died at his home in Huddersfield in January 1946, aged 70.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician.
Born in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...
, Riley was the son of a stonemason. He started work aged 9, and was apprenticed
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
to the bookbinding
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
trade. He served as a journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
in Bath, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
and London, eventually starting his own business in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
in 1896. At the same time he was employed as a lecturer by the Land Restoration League
English League for the Taxation of Land Values
The English League for the Taxation of Land Values was a historic precursor of two present-day reform bodies—the international umbrella organisation the IU and the UK think tank the Henry George Foundation...
, visiting agricultural labourers in various counties. He married Lucy Rushworth of Halifax, and they had one son.
Riley was a founding member of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
, and was elected to Huddersfield School Board in 1896 and to Huddersfield Town Council in 1904.
At the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
Riley stood as the Labour Party's candidate in the Dewsbury constituency
Dewsbury (UK Parliament constituency)
Dewsbury is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, but failed to be elected. At the next election in 1922
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
Riley won the seat, but lost it the following year
United Kingdom general election, 1922
The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John...
. In 1924
United Kingdom general election, 1924
- Seats summary :- References :* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* - External links :* * *...
he regained the seat. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to Noel Buxton, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889...
in the Labour Government of 1929-1931. At the 1931 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
he lost his seat, along with many other Labour Party MPs.
Riley returned to the Commons at the 1935 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
. He held the seat until the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
, when he retired.
He died at his home in Huddersfield in January 1946, aged 70.