Labour's Election Campaign

The new Labour candidate, Tom Proctor, planned a very active campaign leading to the expected general election. This was centred round a series of public meetings featuring nearly all Labour's top line speakers at that time.

Tom Proctor lived in Devonport, and he came to Grimsby for a week at the end of February. He had two big meetings that week, ambitious even in those days, and the first one on Tuesday was not a success. According to the press it "lacked enthusiasm". At the beginning there were only just over a 100 people present, and "a desert of empty chairs".

There was another, more successful, meeting on the Thursday. The national speakers were David Shackleton MP (soon to be second to Keir Hardie, and later on Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour) and Robert Clynes (who would be Lord Privy Seal and then Home Secretary in Labour governments. He returned to Grimsby in 1935 to speak for the League of Nations Union).

The next day, Friday, there was a meeting for trade unionists, but few attended. A typical reported point raised was : "Trawlers going to Faroe were in the habit of bringing two or three men at a time who had no status on board, but who were landed here without the knowledge of the Board of Trade. These men were increasing the number of unemployed in Grimsby, and it was a disgrace to go down Fish Dock road and see there more Dutch, Danish, and German fishermen than English."

Another complaint was that: "when a man did not turn up to join his ship, any tailor or shoemaker out of work was picked up to complete the crew. Such a course was dangerous to the remainder of the crew, as the vessel was practically under-manned."

The next big meeting at the end of May was a great success. There were two of Labour's best speakers. Philip Snowden, an eloquent methodist who was to be Chancellor of the Exchequer in two Labour governments, and Will Crooks MP a dock worker from Poplar who, together with Sidney Webb and George Lansbury, had promoted several important reforms through the London County Council.

The 'Grimsby News' wrote: "Mr Will Crooks MP is a very racy speaker. His address at the Town Hall on Friday night was immensly enjoyed." To give some flavour of what it might have been like we give quotes from his reported speech on another page

Philip Snowden gave " quite a stirring address, but Mr Tom Proctor and the local folk were insufferably dull".

Of his Party Philip Snowden "claimed the right to formulate their own policy and their own programme ........and to put forward a candidate irrespective of the convenience of either the Liberal or the Tory Party (applause). By these means they were going to build up a great Labour Party in this country ...."

"They all wanted some improvement in their common lot..... above all they wanted removing from the life of the common man that Damocletian sword of unemployment and undeserved suffering. He would guarantee that four out of every five present among them were not sure of getting a week's wages the week after next. What had this to do with politics? They meant to see that it had a great deal to do with politics; they meant to make it an important point of politics." (applause)

In an eloquent peroration, full of flowing rounded sentences, he appealed to all workers to allow no party ties to present them from their duty as fathers, as husbands, and as men" (loud applause).

On 19th November the Secretary of the Grimsby LRC , Harry Empson, wrote to Ramsey MacDonald: "Your favour of the 14th to hand and note you thought of coming by the 4.15 from Kings Cross. As our meeting is called for 8 PM sharp and the train is not to be relied upon, I would suggest you coming by the 2 PM via Retford, arriving here 6.15 PM. This will minimise any chance of being late. You will be sorry to hear Mr Barnes has again broken down in health and he will not be the other speaker. I am trying to get someone, but up to now without no success.
Someone will meet you here. Have you any preference whether you are put up at an hotel or private house?
Hoping you will be able to come by the 2 PM train."

Ramsey MacDonald, who was then secretary of the Labour Representation Committee, and was to be Prime Minister in two Labour governments, said that Labour was charged with trying to split the working men's vote in Grimsby. But what restrictive right had the Liberal Party to nominate the candidate for Grimsby. The Liberals in 36 seats out of the 50 cases had decided to give the Labour candidate a free run against the Tory candidate. Because that concession had been made in 36 cases it should have been made in Grimsby.