Kenny MacAskill’s Roots And Branches
Politics and a commitment to socialism was a family affair for the Hardies
Scottish politics was something of a family affair for Keir Hardie and his relatives
WANDERING the Westminster corridors, I came across a bust of Labour Party founder James Keir Hardie, a Scotsman I greatly admire. I thought it rather ironic given how he was treated there.
Bob Holman’s biography of him narrates how the House neither acknowledged his death in 1915 nor paid respects. Such was their disdain for a man who had challenged the system and opposed the Great War waging with all its horror at the time. Thankfully, thousands lined Glasgow’s streets as his funeral cortège passed.
Keir Hardie founded the Labour Party and was a radical trade unionist whose efforts resound to this day. Much is known about him, but far less of other Hardies who’ve served as MPS. Two brothers were also elected to parliament, as were a son-in-law and a sister-in-law. Not a family business but a shared commitment to socialism.
The most recent was Emrys Hughes, who was not only Keir’s son-in-law but one of his many biographers. Though Welsh he was the MP for South Ayrshire until his death in 1969 when he was succeeded by my friend Jim Sillars.
Keir Hardie, first elected for West Ham, had represented Merthyr Tydfil at the time of his death, starting the Scottish and Welsh political fusion.
Keir Hardie’s brother David was also briefly Labour MP for Rutherglen. Elected at a by-election in May 1931 at the age of 70, he was swept out of office in the general election of October that same year when Labour were routed. Though it may have been a brief foray into Westminster, he was a lifelong activist.
Longer lasting but equally unsung was George Hardie.
He, like David, was a younger half-brother of the great man himself and biographies of Keir describe George as his “favourite brother”.
James Keir Hardie was born in 1856 but “out of wedlock”, as they say. His mother Mary Keir subsequently married David Hardie in 1859 and further children were born including David in 1860 and George in 1873. It was a large family with eight siblings, though two sadly died young and the age range was considerable.
The family had moved from Lanarkshire to Glasgow but poverty continued to stalk them. George entered the pits at the age of 12, slightly older than when his brother had been forced to work, but still a child.
Keir went down the mines at Monkland Iron Colliery at the age of 10, the same day his stepfather went to sea having been laid off from the shipyards.
By the time George was going down the pits, Keir was already a leading light in the fledgling miners’ union and had taken part in industrial disputes. George idolised Keir as he grew up. Although he left school early, George was naturally bright and committed to self-education. All the time campaigning for the Labour movement.
George seems to have trained as a scientist at one stage and worked with an engineering firm in Glasgow. Kenneth
Morgan’s biography of Keir Hardie describes George as a “more practical man than his elder brother” and credited him with inventing a new form of smokeless fuel.
His political activities continued, however, and in 1894 he joined the staff of the newspaper the Labour Leader and worked on a number of Lanarkshire journals. Those roles were, as Caroline Benn’s biography suggests,
“Keir 10” went down the mines aged
“probably part-time, probably unpaid, like most of the others” who were working there, including Keir.
George spent five years on the Glasgow School Board, which provided an early baptism for the aspiring socialist politician. Soon he followed his brother into the House of Commons, although his brother wouldn’t live to see it.
In 1918, fighting the Glasgow seat of Springburn for the Independent Labour Party (ILP) George was comfortably beaten by a Coalition Conservative. That was an election where the ostensibly Liberal Lloyd George led a predominately Tory alliance to an overwhelming victory. But with the backdrop of war, punishment of Germany was the primary issue over social improvements.
Though this was the first contest where all working-class men had the vote, turnout was low due to issues with the electoral register and servicemen abroad.
By 1922, the mood had changed, and housing and unemployment were the critical factors. This resulted in an ILP landslide where the “Red Clydesiders” took 10 seats in Glasgow and a majority in Scotland. One of those elected was George Hardie, and a Tory majority of 2790 was replaced by an ILP one of 5460.
George held the seat until 1931 when, following the debacle of the Labour government under Ramsay Mcdonald, he was defeated along with his older brother David. By 1935, he was back in office but sadly died in 1937 at the age of 63. His wife Agnes, who had been a Labour stalwart replaced him, continuing the Hardie link until it passed to Emrys.
George also shared his brother’s temperance views. An obituary stated that his final contribution was in “the Bill for control of the sale of methylated spirits and in the debate on that measure he was particularly eloquent on the effects of this evil in Glasgow.”
This lesser known Hardie was a good man all the same and deserves to be remembered.
Next month your Scottish history expert Kenny Macaskill remembers Scottish environmentalist John Mclaren, who created the Golden Gate Park, San Fransisco, in 1871.