John Stokes (trade unionist)
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
John Stokes (12 May 18721939 England and Wales Register – 17 September 1942) was a British trade unionist and political activist.
Stokes came to prominence as secretary of the small London Glass Bottle Makers union. He was also a member of the British Socialist Party (BSP), who put him forward as their proposed candidate for Bradford East at the election which was expected to take place in 1914 or 1915. However, this was against the wishes of local BSP activists, and he failed to gain the support of the local Independent Labour Party.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, p.254
Long active on the London Trades Council, Stokes replaced his BSP comrade Fred Knee as its secretary in 1914, serving for three years.Ross McKibbin, The Evolution of the Labour Party, 1910-1924, p.29 Also in 1914, the BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and Stokes immediately took a leading role in founding the London Labour Party, serving as its first Chairman.Brian Barker, Labour in London: A Study in Municipal Achievement, pp.53-54
Although Stokes strongly opposed conscription during World War I,Alan Clinton, The Trade Union Rank and File: Trades Councils in Britain, 1900-40, p.64 he did not oppose the war overall. This placed him on the right-wing of the BSP, and in 1916 he joined several other leading figures in splitting away to form the National Socialist Party (NSP).Max Beer, A History of British Socialism
Stokes remained secretary of his union, while also becoming chair of the National Federation of Glass Workers and Kindred Trade Unions.The Chemical Age, vol.6, p.660
References
{{Reflist}}
{{start box}}
{{s-npo|union}}
{{succession box|title=Chairman of the London Trades Council|years=1913–1914|before=Harry Quelch|after=Edward Friend}}
{{succession box
| title = Secretary of the London Trades Council
| years = 1914–1917
| before = Fred Knee
| after = Duncan Carmichael
}}
{{succession box|title=Treasurer of the London Trades Council|years=1917–1942|before=Ben Cooper|after=Harry Hynd}}
{{succession box|title=Trades Union Congress representative to the American Federation of Labour|years=1934|with=Alexander Walkden|before=Joe Hall and Jimmy Rowan|after=Andrew Conley and Andrew Naesmith}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box|title=President of the British Socialist Party|years=1914|before=Dan Irving|after=Arthur Seabury}}
{{succession box|title=Chairman of the London Labour Party|years=1915 – 1916|before=New position|after=Fred Bramley}}
{{end box}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, John}}