The Labour Elector was a British socialist publication. The Labour Elector was edited by Henry Hyde Champion

Henry Hyde Champion

Henry Hyde Champion was a socialist journalist and activist, regarded as one of the leading spirits behind the formation of the Independent Labour Party...

 (a former member of the Social Democratic Federation

Social Democratic Federation

The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...

) and published from London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The newspaper was sold at one penny

Penny

A penny is a coin or a type of currency used in several English-speaking countries. It is often the smallest denomination within a currency system.-Etymology:...

. The founding of the newspaper was preceded by the May 1888 Southampton by-election, in which Champion's Labour Electoral Association had helped ensure the electoral victory of the 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...

 candidate Francis Evans

Sir Francis Evans, 1st Baronet

Sir Francis Henry Evans, 1st Baronet, KCMG was a British civil engineer, businessman and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:...

. The Labour Elector argued in favour of the foundation of an '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...

'.

The Labour Elector was published monthly between June and October 1888, fortnightly between November 1, 1888 and December 1, 1888, and weekly between January 5, 1889 and April 19, 1890. The Labour Elector experienced a boom in its readership during the London Dock Strike of 1889

London Dock Strike of 1889

The London Dock Strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in a victory for the strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of which became the nationally important Dock, Wharf, Riverside...

. At the time the editorial board of the newspaper was joined by John Burns

John Burns

John Elliot Burns was an English trade unionist and politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly associated with London politics. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was anti-alcohol and a keen sportsman...

 and Cunninghame Graham. However, the two soon found themselves uncomfortable with Champion's way of running the newspaper. Champion controlled the newspaper editorial line, assisted by Maltman Barry

Maltman Barry

Michael Maltman Barry , often known as Maltman Barry, was a Scottish political activist who described himself as a Marxist but stood in elections for the Conservative Party....

 as his sub-editor. Burns and Graham left the newspaper in connection with an attack published in the pages of the Labour Elector on The Star

The Star (London)

The Star was a London evening newspaper founded in 1788.The first edition was printed on 3 May 1788 under the editorship of Peter Stuart. Founding sponsors of the new paper included publisher John Murray and William Lane of the Minerva Press...

editor Ernest Parke.

Publication was discontinued in April 1890, as its founder Champion left for Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 to organize trade union

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...

s there (an alternative account states that the shift to Australia was motived by health reasons). Publication of the Labour Elector was resumed in January 1893 (as a weekly). In June 1893 it was converted into a monthly publication, and in January 1894 the Labour Elector again ceased publication.