Clement Edwards

{{Short description|Welsh lawyer, journalist, activist and politician}}

(Allen) Clement Edwards (7 June 1869 – 23 June 1938), usually known as Clem, was a Welsh lawyer, journalist, trade union activist and Liberal Party politician.

Family and education

Edwards was born in Knighton in Radnorshire, the son of a master tailor and draper, one of seven children. He was educated at the local school in Knighton, undertook private studies and also attended evening classes at Birkbeck Institute in London.Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10 In 1890, Edwards married Fanny Emerson, the daughter of the superintendent of Trinity House, Great Yarmouth. She died in 1920. Two years later Edwards was remarried, to Alice May Parker, a political colleagueWho was Who, OUP 2007 in the NDP. They had one son, John Charles Gordon Clement Edwards (1924–2004) who served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in the Second World War and later became a solicitor.Christopher Langdon, Square toes and formal, Roundtuit Publishing, 2006 p48

In religion, although born into an Anglican family, Edwards became a Congregationalist and was considered a typical Welsh-speaking champion of nonconformist causes.Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10

The law

Edwards began his law career working in a solicitor's office. In 1899, he was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple.The Times, 15 June 1899 p11 As a barrister specialising in trade union and labour law he was briefed in some of the most important cases of the day concerning the rights of trade unions to engage in industrial and political action. He was drawn to trade union cases and in the Taff Vale case of 1901 he was one of Counsel briefed on behalf of the trade union. He was also briefed in another railway action, the Osborne case, concerning trade union support for MPsThe Times, 25 June 1938 p14

Trade Union activism

Edward's law work for the unions strengthened his political and social awareness and from the 1880s, he was involved in the formation of trade unions for unskilled workers. Despite his legal connections to the railway unions, Edwards developed a special connection with the dock workers and was at one time assistant secretary of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union.Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10

He was also general secretary of the federation of dockland and transport unions. Edwards had a flair for mass organisation. In the great dock strike of 1889, he was one of John Burns' lieutenants in the organisation of the dispute andThe Times, 25 June 1938 p14 in 1893, he organised a mass demonstration in Hyde Park in aid of miners and their families undergoing severe hardship and was also responsible for another demonstration at the same venue by 30,000 laundresses.{{Cite web |title=Welsh Liberal MPs Elected in 1906 |url=http://lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk/en/document/welsh-liberal-mps-elected-in-1906.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003161211/http://lloydgeorgesociety.org.uk/en/document/welsh-liberal-mps-elected-in-1906.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2011 |website=Lloyd George Society}}

During his time working for the dock labourers, Edwards was to play a leading part in the public inquiry which looked into the sinking of the RMS Titanic.Christopher Langdon, Square toes and formal, Roundtuit Publishing, 1989 p48 He put the miners' case following the infamous 1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster in which 439 men died. But Edwards never conceived of the trade unions as the industrial arm of the socialist movement. He understood them as the working-man's defence against unfair employers and a protection against an economic system which produced personal poverty, immorality, and misery.

Politics

From trade union activism, Edwards expanded into political activity, including radical journalism, becoming labour editor of the London newspaper The Sun in 1893 and then The Echo in 1894. He then transferred to the Daily News where he held the title Special Commissioner.Who was Who, OUP 2007 Edwards was always active in the Welsh radical tradition and was strongly opposed to a separate Labour Party.Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10

Edwards was a member of the Fabian SocietyMichael Freeden (ed.), Minutes of the Rainbow Circle: 1894–1924, Royal Historical Society, 2006 p367 and in local politics he stood for election as Progressive Party candidate for the London School Board in 1894 in Islington before being elected to Islington Vestry to represent Thornhill ward in 1898.{{cite news|title=Progressive Notes|newspaper=Holloway & Hornsey Press|date=5 May 1899|page=5}} {{cite news|title=A Storm in A Teacup|newspaper=Islington Gazette|date=7 February 1900|page=2}} Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10 He stood unsuccessfully for parliament as a Liberal in 1895 for TottenhamThe Times, 23 July 1895 p.6

and in 1900 for Denbigh BoroughsThe Times, 2 October 1900 p8

before winning in Denbigh in 1906.

He stood for re-election there in January 1910 but lost by just eight votes.The Times House of Commons, 1910;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p89 However, he was quickly selected for another Welsh seat, this time with a more secure Liberal vote, and in December 1910, he was elected as MP for the mining seat of East Glamorganshire in a three-cornered contest against Unionist and Labour opposition.The Times House of Commons, 1911;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p101

The coming of the First World War presented the Liberal Party with many difficult political decisions over essentially illiberal legislation such as the Defence of the Realm Act, which gave the government wide-ranging powers and on the question of conscription. As W. Llewelyn Williams, Liberal MP for Carmarthen put it, "...it would be a tragedy worse than war if, in order to win the war, England ceased to be the beacon of freedom and liberty she has been in the past."quoted in David Dutton,A History of the Liberal Party in the 20th Century; Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 p60 However it was hard to stand up against the tide of patriotic fervour sweeping the country and this infected Edwards as it did many others on the radical wing of the party.

{{Election box begin | title=General election 1900: Denbigh BoroughsDebrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1901

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Hon. George Thomas Kenyon

|votes =1,862

|percentage = 51.5

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 1,752

|percentage = 48.5

|change =

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{{Election box majority|

|votes = 110

|percentage = 3.0

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{{Election box turnout|

|votes = 3,614

|percentage =

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{{Election box begin | title=General election 1906 Denbigh BoroughsBritish parliamentary election results, 1885–1918 (Craig)

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 2,533

|percentage = 56.4

|change = +7.9

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Hon. George Thomas Kenyon

|votes =1,960

|percentage = 43.6

|change = -7.9

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{{Election box majority|

|votes = 573

|percentage = 12.8

|change = 15.8

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{{Election box turnout|

|votes =

|percentage = 94.5

|change = +7.1

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{{Election box gain with party link|

|winner = Liberal Party (UK)

|loser = Conservative Party (UK)

|swing = +7.9

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{{Election box begin |

|title=General election January 1910: Denbigh BoroughsDebrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench, 1916

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Hon. William George Arthur Ormsby-Gore

|votes =2,438

|percentage = 50.1

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 2,430

|percentage = 49.9

|change =

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{{Election box majority|

|votes = 8

|percentage = 0.2

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{{Election box turnout|

|votes = 4,868

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{{Election box begin | title=December 1910 United Kingdom general election: East GlamorganThe Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 101 1911 Section

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 9,088

|percentage = 46.9

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Conservative Party (UK)

|candidate = Frank Hall Gaskell

|votes = 5,603

|percentage = 28.9

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Charles Butt Stanton

|votes = 4,675

|percentage = 24.1

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box majority|

|votes = 3,485

|percentage = 18.0

|change =

}}

{{Election box turnout|

|votes = 19,366

|percentage = 80.8

|change =

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{{Election box hold with party link|

|winner = Liberal Party (UK)

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=National Democratic Party =

With former union leader Ben Tillett and other Labour men from a trade union background, Edwards backed David Lloyd George, notably in efforts to prevent industrial unrest and keep the war effort on track.

In 1916, the British Workers League was formed as an organisation for patriotic labour to get behind the war effort and for commercial preference within the British Empire.Chris Cook, Sources in British Political History, 1900–1951; Macmillan, 1975 pp 31–32 Edwards was drawn to the League which changed its name to the National Democratic Party for the 1918 general election. The party won nine seats at the election. Edwards was the NDP candidate for East Ham South where he was elected as a supporter of the Coalition government in 1918. He may have been granted the Coalition coupon but was opposed by a Unionist and his Labour opponent was Arthur Henderson the future leader of the Labour Party.The Times House of Commons, 1919;, Politico's Publishing, 2004 p29 Edwards was the chairman of the NDP in Parliament from 1918 to 1920. The development of the Labour Party, post-war industrial unrest of which Edwards continued to disapprove and the increasing unpopularity of the Lloyd George coalition, combined to undermine the NDP's appeal to patriotic labour and the party was wound up. Edwards defended East Ham South at the 1922 general election as a National Liberal supporter of Lloyd George, but was pushed into third place in a three-cornered contest won by Labour's Alfred Barnes.F W S Craig,British Parliamentary Election Results; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p132

{{Election box begin |

|title=General election 1918: East Ham SouthBritish Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = National Democratic and Labour Party

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 7,972

|percentage = 42.8

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Unionist Party (UK)

|candidate = Robert Frederick Frank Hamlett

|votes = 5,661

|percentage = 30.3

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Rt Hon. Arthur Henderson

|votes = 5,024

|percentage = 26.9

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box majority|

|votes = 2,311

|percentage = 12.5

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box turnout|

|votes =

|percentage = 57.5

|change = n/a

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{{Election box win

|winner = National Democratic and Labour Party

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{{Election box begin |

|title=General election 1922: East Ham SouthBritish Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig

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{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Labour Party (UK)

|candidate = Alfred John Barnes

|votes = 10,566

|percentage = 48.1

|change = +21.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Liberal Party (UK)

|candidate = Edward Smallwood

|votes = 6,567

|percentage = 30.0

|change = n/a

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = National Liberal Party (UK, 1922)

|candidate = Allen Clement Edwards

|votes = 4,793

|percentage = 21.9

|change = -20.9

}}

{{Election box majority|

|votes = 3,999

|percentage = 18.1

|change =

}}

{{Election box turnout|

|votes =

|percentage = 66.3

|change =

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{{Election box gain with party link|

|winner = Labour Party (UK)

|loser = National Democratic and Labour Party

|swing = n/a

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=Later life=

Edwards did not stand for Parliament again. After the demise of the NDP he re-joined the Liberal Party. He remained a champion of union rights during the industrial turmoil of the 1920s but took little part in public or political affairs after losing his Parliamentary seat.The Times, 24 June 1938 p1

He remained a Liberal Party member until 1931, when he lost faith with the party leaders and resigned his membership.Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10

He continued in the law until retirement.

Death

Edwards died of cancer at Manor House Hospital, Golders Green, on 23 June 1938,Duncan Tanner, (Allen) Clement Edwards in Dictionary of National Biography online, OUP 2004–10 aged 69. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium.The Times, 24 June 1938 p1

Publications

Railway Nationalization, Methuen & Co., 1898
The Children's Labour Question, Daily News, 1899
(Jointly with George Haw) No Room to Live: the plaint of overcrowded London, Wells Gardner & Co., London, 1900 (reprinted from the Daily News)
The Compensation Act, 1906: Who pays? to whom, to what, and when it applies, Chatto & Windus, 1907
Articles and journalism on labour, economics, industry and politics