Trade Unionist

He worked in the mining industry. In 1890 he became Treasurer of the Durham Miners' Association

Durham Miners' Association

The Durham Miners' Association was a trade union in the United Kingdom.The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000...

 and then in 1897 their Financial Secretary.

Politician

In 1904, following the death of the Gateshead

Gateshead (UK Parliament constituency)

Gateshead is a borough 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. A previous Gateshead constituency existed from 1832 to 1950....

 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...

 MP, William Allan

William Allan (UK politician)

Sir William Allan, DL was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament for Gateshead from 1893 until his death in 1903....

, Johnson, though a 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...

, was selected as Liberal candidate to defend the predominantly mining seat at a by-election. He won the election and joined the Liberal-Labour

Liberal-Labour

Liberal-Labour may refer to:* Liberal-Labour * Liberal-Labour...

 trade union group, as a miners union sponsored MP.

In 1906 he was re-elected at the 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**...

.

In 1909, when the Miners Federation of Great Britain affiliated to the 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...

 he was required to cross the floor to sit as a Labour MP. He was also required to seek re-election at the next General election as a Labour candidate.

In 1910, he contested the January General Election as a Labour candidate but was opposed by a Liberal candidate, Harold Elverston. Johnson was a supporter of the Miners Eight Hours Act, which brought him opposition from many miners in Gateshead. Johnson finished in third place as the Liberals re-gained the seat. He died later that year aged 60.