Percy Daines
Encyclopedia
Percy Daines was a British
insurance agent and politician. He served as a Labour
and Co-operative Party
Member of Parliament for East Ham North
from the 1945 general election
until his death, and was on the national committee of the Co-operative Party. He was known for his opposition to Communism, and was described as "one of the most powerful back-benchers in the Labour Party".
official working for the Co-operative Insurance Society; as such he was a member of both the National Union of Railwaymen
and the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers. Daines married his wife Lilian in 1923.
During the Second World War, Daines served with the Royal Engineers
. He also became a member of Enfield Town
Council. His wife was also a councillor in Enfield and later became chairman of the council.
candidate for East Ham North
for the 1945 general election
, and was sponsored by the Co-operative Party
which was the political wing of the Co-operative movement and in alliance with the Labour Party. The constituency was held by the Conservatives with a narrow majority of 533, but in the circumstances of the election Daines had no difficulty in gaining the seat with a majority of 10,559.
Daines spoke in a censure debate in December 1945, arguing that workers had shown unity during the war and would show it in peace if they had a social motive instead of a profit motive. He often contributed to debates on insurance issues, using his experience as an agent. In July 1946 he spoke in a debate on the introduction of bread rationing, claiming that the Master Bakers' Association was only opposing out of concern for their own profits.
. This was an unpaid position, and did not prevent him from speaking in the House of Commons. He was a loyal supporter of a controversial decision to reduce the period of National Service
in the armed forces from 18 months to 12, in a speech in April 1947. However, he resigned his post as Assistant Whip just before the summer recess of that year. He remained loyal to the government when a fellow Labour MP opposed an order which allowed the Government to choose which jobs the unemployed should take; he look forward to further orders "dealing with rentiers
and spiv
s".
without creating independent Jewish and Arab states in line with the United Nations
partition plan. He supported a moratorium on capital punishment
, and broke the whip to insist on disagreement with the House of Lords
after the Government conceded to Lords opposition; he was later to be a sponsor of Sydney Silverman
's bill to abolish the death penalty.
Daines was a witness in a 1948 libel action brought by Bessie Braddock
over a story in the Bolton Evening News claiming she had "danced a jig on the floor of the House" in "a sorry degradation of democratic government"; he said that Braddock appeared to cross the floor of the House reluctantly (Braddock lost the case). He asserted that he was speaking for the Co-operative movement in April 1949 when he opposed the Agricultural Marketing Bill, which he described as 'capitalist
-syndicalist
'. Daines supported an amendment to remove the veto of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
on eventual reunification of Ireland in May 1949, against the Government whip.
. A week later he named the Communist secretary of the stevedore
's union as using the power of the strike to further the claims of the Communist-controlled Canadian Seamen's Union.
, arguing that price maintenance stopped the consumer benefiting from reduced production. He was an early supporter of reform of Parliamentary hours, speaking in July 1951 of how "fantastic and stupid" it was to discuss essential legislation at 7'o'clock in the morning.
He faced a determined opponent at the 1951 election
in the shape of Dundas Hamilton who had been an amateur boxer and wore boxing gloves to his adoption meeting. However, Daines was re-elected with his majority reduced to 7,359. In October 1952 he had some negative publicity when his wife obtained a decree nisi
of divorce
against him on grounds of his misconduct.
had not changed the policy of the Soviet Union
. Daines was incensed when a Ministry of Defence booklet was published in February 1955 which revealed that British Communists had visited prisoner of war
camps during the Korean War
, and attempted to convert British troops to communism. He urged their prosecution, observing that men had been hanged for lesser crimes after the Second World War.
used Parliamentary privilege
to name Kim Philby
as the 'third man' in the spy ring involving Guy Burgess
and Donald Maclean, Daines was concerned. He intervened on a speech by Lipton in the House of Commons on 7 November 1955 to observe that what Lipton had done was "tantamount to a charge against that gentleman" and ask him for the source of his information. Lipton declined to respond, and Daines then raised a point of order insisting that Philby was unable to defend himself and that Lipton "owes it to the House to give the source of his information, or should withdraw the charge".
was stopped by the ascendancy of the Soviets in the Middle East. He called on Prime Minister Anthony Eden
to resign as he was discredited in America. Daines died suddenly in hospital at Southend in March 1957.
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...
insurance agent and politician. He served as a Labour
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...
and Co-operative Party
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
Member of Parliament for East Ham North
East Ham North (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham North was a parliamentary constituency centred on the East Ham district of London, which was in Essex until 1965. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.- History :The...
from 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...
until his death, and was on the national committee of the Co-operative Party. He was known for his opposition to Communism, and was described as "one of the most powerful back-benchers in the Labour Party".
Insurance agent
Daines' early career was spent as a fireman on the railways. In 1921 he became an insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
official working for the Co-operative Insurance Society; as such he was a member of both the National Union of Railwaymen
National Union of Railwaymen
The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. It an industrial union founded in 1913 by the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants , the United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society and the General Railway Workers' Union .The NUR...
and the National Union of Distributive and Allied Workers. Daines married his wife Lilian in 1923.
During the Second World War, Daines served with the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
. He also became a member of Enfield Town
Enfield Town
Enfield Town is the historic town centre of Enfield, formerly in the county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Enfield. It is north north-east of Charing Cross...
Council. His wife was also a councillor in Enfield and later became chairman of the council.
East Ham North
He was chosen as Labour PartyLabour 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...
candidate for East Ham North
East Ham North (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham North was a parliamentary constituency centred on the East Ham district of London, which was in Essex until 1965. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.- History :The...
for 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...
, and was sponsored by the Co-operative Party
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
which was the political wing of the Co-operative movement and in alliance with the Labour Party. The constituency was held by the Conservatives with a narrow majority of 533, but in the circumstances of the election Daines had no difficulty in gaining the seat with a majority of 10,559.
Daines spoke in a censure debate in December 1945, arguing that workers had shown unity during the war and would show it in peace if they had a social motive instead of a profit motive. He often contributed to debates on insurance issues, using his experience as an agent. In July 1946 he spoke in a debate on the introduction of bread rationing, claiming that the Master Bakers' Association was only opposing out of concern for their own profits.
Assistant Whip
In December 1946, Daines was appointed an Assistant WhipWhip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
. This was an unpaid position, and did not prevent him from speaking in the House of Commons. He was a loyal supporter of a controversial decision to reduce the period of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the armed forces from 18 months to 12, in a speech in April 1947. However, he resigned his post as Assistant Whip just before the summer recess of that year. He remained loyal to the government when a fellow Labour MP opposed an order which allowed the Government to choose which jobs the unemployed should take; he look forward to further orders "dealing with rentiers
Rentier capitalism
Rentier capitalism is a term used in Marxism and sociology which refers to a type of capitalism where a large amount of profit-income generated takes the form of property income, received as interest, intellectual property rights, rents, dividends, fees, or capital gains.The beneficiaries of this...
and spiv
Underground economy
A black market or underground economy is a market in goods or services which operates outside the formal one supported by established state power. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and...
s".
Capital punishment
On foreign policy, Daines joined a group of left-wing Labour MPs in opposing the ending of the British mandate in PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
without creating independent Jewish and Arab states in line with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
partition plan. He supported a moratorium on capital punishment
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
, and broke the whip to insist on disagreement with the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
after the Government conceded to Lords opposition; he was later to be a sponsor of Sydney Silverman
Sydney Silverman
Samuel Sydney Silverman was a British Labour politician and vocal opponent of capital punishment.-Early life:...
's bill to abolish the death penalty.
Daines was a witness in a 1948 libel action brought by Bessie Braddock
Bessie Braddock
Elizabeth Margaret Braddock JP , better known as Bessie Braddock, was a British Labour politician...
over a story in the Bolton Evening News claiming she had "danced a jig on the floor of the House" in "a sorry degradation of democratic government"; he said that Braddock appeared to cross the floor of the House reluctantly (Braddock lost the case). He asserted that he was speaking for the Co-operative movement in April 1949 when he opposed the Agricultural Marketing Bill, which he described as 'capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
-syndicalist
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
'. Daines supported an amendment to remove the veto of the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
on eventual reunification of Ireland in May 1949, against the Government whip.
Dock strike
With a constituency near the docks, Daines was brought in to the 1949 unofficial dock strike. He denounced the strike as the product of a "wicked conspiracy cleverly rigged up", making it clear that the conspiracy was the work of the CommunistsCommunist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. A week later he named the Communist secretary of the stevedore
Stevedore
Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....
's union as using the power of the strike to further the claims of the Communist-controlled Canadian Seamen's Union.
Resale price maintenance
In June 1950, Daines seconded a motion calling for an end to resale price maintenanceResale price maintenance
Resale price maintenance is the practice whereby a manufacturer and its distributors agree that the latter will sell the former's product at certain prices , at or above a price floor or at or below a price ceiling...
, arguing that price maintenance stopped the consumer benefiting from reduced production. He was an early supporter of reform of Parliamentary hours, speaking in July 1951 of how "fantastic and stupid" it was to discuss essential legislation at 7'o'clock in the morning.
He faced a determined opponent at the 1951 election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
in the shape of Dundas Hamilton who had been an amateur boxer and wore boxing gloves to his adoption meeting. However, Daines was re-elected with his majority reduced to 7,359. In October 1952 he had some negative publicity when his wife obtained a decree nisi
Decree nisi
A decree nisi is a court order that does not have any force until such time that a particular condition is met, such as a subsequent petition to the court or the passage of a specified period of time....
of divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
against him on grounds of his misconduct.
Foreign policy
At the 1953 Co-operative Party congress, Daines warned delegates against getting themselves into a "Munich mentality" which was thought to have helped persuade the congress to reject a motion calling for the abolition of national service. He spoke in a foreign policy debate in May 1953 regretting the tendency to anti-Americanism in the Labour Party, and said that the death of StalinJoseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
had not changed the policy of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Daines was incensed when a Ministry of Defence booklet was published in February 1955 which revealed that British Communists had visited prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camps during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and attempted to convert British troops to communism. He urged their prosecution, observing that men had been hanged for lesser crimes after the Second World War.
Kim Philby
When fellow Labour MP Marcus LiptonMarcus Lipton
Marcus Lipton OBE was a British Labour Party politician.Lipton was educated at Bede Grammar School, Sunderland, and Merton College, Oxford with a scholarship. He studied law and was called to the Bar in 1926...
used Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
to name Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
as the 'third man' in the spy ring involving Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
and Donald Maclean, Daines was concerned. He intervened on a speech by Lipton in the House of Commons on 7 November 1955 to observe that what Lipton had done was "tantamount to a charge against that gentleman" and ask him for the source of his information. Lipton declined to respond, and Daines then raised a point of order insisting that Philby was unable to defend himself and that Lipton "owes it to the House to give the source of his information, or should withdraw the charge".
Suez
Despite his opposition to the Soviet Union, Daines felt that the invasion of SuezSuez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
was stopped by the ascendancy of the Soviets in the Middle East. He called on Prime Minister Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
to resign as he was discredited in America. Daines died suddenly in hospital at Southend in March 1957.