James Patrick Gardner

Who was James Patrick Gardner?

James Patrick Gardner was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.

Born in Belfast, he was educated by the Christian Brothers there before taking up the trade of architectural sculptor. He moved to Hammersmith in West London, where he became a member of the borough council in 1919. He was also an official in the National Furnishing Trades Association.

In 1922 he was chosen by the Labour Party to contest the Conservative-held seat of Hammersmith North. He failed to be elected on that occasion, but when another election was held in the following year he was elected MP for North Hammersmith by the narrow margin of 845 votes. He was unseated after less than a year when a further election was held in October 1924. In 1926, Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, the MP for Hammersmith North, resigned. In the resulting by-election, held against the background of the General Strike, Gardner regained the seat with the substantial majority of 3,611 votes. He retained the seat at the 1929 general election. Following the election the Labour Party formed a minority government. This was subsequently replaced by a National Government in August 1931 leading to a split in the Labour Party.