Hardie, (James) Keir (1856-1915)

Scottish socialist politician Keir Hardie entered the British parliament independently in 1892 as the first Labour member. He co-founded the Independent Labour Party in 1893 but, as an ardent pacifist, withdrew from Labour politics when the majority of his colleagues declared their support for British participation in World War I. He remained an MP until his death in 1915.

Scottish socialist, the first British Labour politician, member of Parliament 1892-95 and 1900-15. He worked in the mines as a boy and in 1886 became secretary of the Scottish Miners' Federation. In 1888 he was the first Labour candidate to stand for Parliament; he entered Parliament independently as a Labour member in 1892, he became chair of the Labour party 1906-08 and 1909-10, and in 1893 was a chief founder of the Independent Labour Party.