John Hodge (UK politician)
Encyclopedia
John Hodge was a Coalition Labour
party politician in the United Kingdom
, and was the first Minister of Labour
and the second Minister of Pensions
.
Hodge was born in Linkeyburn, Ayrshire
and attended Ironworks School and Hutcheonstown Grammar School. When he was thirteen Hodge left school to become a solicitor's clerk and then in a grocer's shop before becoming joining the local iron works as a puddler, the same job as his father.
It was here that Hodge first got involved with trade unionism. Hodge helped form the British Steel Smelters' Association, which he was elected secretary, in 1885 because their bosses at Colville
Works in Motherwell had informed them that their wages would be twenty per cent lower than before. The BSSA was a success and by the summer of 1886 practically every smelter in Scotland
had become a member and by 1888 the BSSA had members joining from England
and Wales
and become affiliated with the TUC. The BSSA rarely organised strikes but Hodge was successful at negotiating increases in wages.
He was on Manchester
City Council from 1897 to 1901. After failed attempts to get elected as a Liberal
Hodge was elected at the 1906 general election
as a Labour Party
Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton
. When war was declared in 1914 Hodge took a very patriotic stance and criticised other Labour politicians for opposing it. From 1915 to 1916 Hodge was Acting Chairman of the Labour Party.
In 1916 he was part of the Mesopotamia Commission of Inquiry
. He was also elected as president of the British Iron, Steel & Kindred Trades Association which he had helped to form with other iron and steel unions
. From December 1916 to August 1917, Hodge was the first Minister of Labour
and had a seat in the Cabinet. At this job Hodge claimed that all strikes during war-time were acts of treason
and Hodge successfully made striking boilermakers to go back to work by threatening to charge them with the Defence of the Realm Act.
From August 1917 to January 1919, Hodge was Minister of Pensions
in the Lloyd George Coalition Government. In 1919 he appeared in the film Broken in the Wars
directed by Cecil Hepworth
to advertise a fund set up for ex-servicemen.
The Labour Party was not pleased with Hodge's anti-strike and patriotic actions and therefore put up a candidate against him in the general election of 1918
but failed to unseat Hodge. Hodge kept his seat in the general election of 1922
but retired from Parliament
at the general election of 1923
. Hodge continued to argue against strikes during the General Strike
of 1926 and retired from the presidency of the British Iron, Steel & Kindred Trades Association in 1931.
Hodge was turned down for military service because he was too old. Arthur Griffith-Boscawen
, who served under Hodge, called him a "fat, rampaging and most patriotic Tory working man".
Coalition Labour
Coalition Labour was a description used by previously Labour Party supporting candidates in the 1918 General Election who supported the ruling coalition. Only two actually received a Coalition Coupon: J. R...
party politician in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and was the first Minister of Labour
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
and the second Minister of Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
.
Hodge was born in Linkeyburn, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
and attended Ironworks School and Hutcheonstown Grammar School. When he was thirteen Hodge left school to become a solicitor's clerk and then in a grocer's shop before becoming joining the local iron works as a puddler, the same job as his father.
It was here that Hodge first got involved with trade unionism. Hodge helped form the British Steel Smelters' Association, which he was elected secretary, in 1885 because their bosses at Colville
David Colville & Sons
David Colville & Sons was a Scottish iron and steel company. It was founded in 1871, and in 1967 it was nationalised as part of British Steel. The company's first plant was the Dalzell Steel and Iron Works in Motherwell, which was opened in 1872, and by World War I this plant was the largest...
Works in Motherwell had informed them that their wages would be twenty per cent lower than before. The BSSA was a success and by the summer of 1886 practically every smelter in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
had become a member and by 1888 the BSSA had members joining from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and become affiliated with the TUC. The BSSA rarely organised strikes but Hodge was successful at negotiating increases in wages.
He was on Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
City Council from 1897 to 1901. After failed attempts to get elected as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Hodge was elected at the 1906 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1906
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1906*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-External links:***-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
as a 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...
Member of Parliament for Manchester Gorton
Manchester Gorton (UK Parliament constituency)
Manchester, Gorton is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester, 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.-1885–1918:...
. When war was declared in 1914 Hodge took a very patriotic stance and criticised other Labour politicians for opposing it. From 1915 to 1916 Hodge was Acting Chairman of the Labour Party.
In 1916 he was part of the Mesopotamia Commission of Inquiry
Special Commissions (Dardanelles and Mesopotamia) Act 1916
The Special Commissions Act 1916 was set up to investigate the World War I operations in the Dardanelles Campaign and the Mesopotamian campaign....
. He was also elected as president of the British Iron, Steel & Kindred Trades Association which he had helped to form with other iron and steel unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. From December 1916 to August 1917, Hodge was the first Minister of Labour
Secretary of State for Employment
The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In 1995 it was merged with Secretary of State for Education to make the Secretary of State for Education and Employment...
and had a seat in the Cabinet. At this job Hodge claimed that all strikes during war-time were acts of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and Hodge successfully made striking boilermakers to go back to work by threatening to charge them with the Defence of the Realm Act.
From August 1917 to January 1919, Hodge was Minister of Pensions
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a post in the British Cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. It was created on 8 June 2001 by the merger of the Employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security.The Ministry...
in the Lloyd George Coalition Government. In 1919 he appeared in the film Broken in the Wars
Broken in the Wars
Broken in the Wars is a 1919 British silent drama film directed by Cecil Hepworth and starring Henry Edwards, Chrissie White and Alma Taylor. The Pensions Minister John Hodge appeared in the film to promote the King's Fund, which supported recently demobalised ex-servicemen...
directed by Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s....
to advertise a fund set up for ex-servicemen.
The Labour Party was not pleased with Hodge's anti-strike and patriotic actions and therefore put up a candidate against him in the general election of 1918
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...
but failed to unseat Hodge. Hodge kept his seat in the general election of 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...
but retired from Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
at the general election of 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
. Hodge continued to argue against strikes during the General Strike
UK General Strike of 1926
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
of 1926 and retired from the presidency of the British Iron, Steel & Kindred Trades Association in 1931.
Hodge was turned down for military service because he was too old. Arthur Griffith-Boscawen
Arthur Griffith-Boscawen
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Sackville Trevor Griffith-Boscawen PC was a British Conservative Party politician whose career was cut short by losing a string of Parliamentary elections....
, who served under Hodge, called him a "fat, rampaging and most patriotic Tory working man".