James Andrew Seddon

Who was James Andrew Seddon?

James Andrew Seddon was a British trades unionist and politician. Originally a member of the Labour Party, he subsequently moved to the National Democratic and Labour Party.

Seddon was born in Prescot, Lancashire in 1868. Having served an apprenticeship as a grocer, he spent ten years working as a commercial traveller. He subsequently became the delegate of the St Helens branch of the National Amalgamated Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen and Clerks. He was elected as vice-president and then president of the union in 1901 and 1902.

In 1906 he was elected Labour MP for Newton, Lancashire. He held the seat at the subsequent general election in January, 1910, but was defeated by 144 votes in the December 1910 poll. Seddon continued his work with the union movement, was reselected as Labour candidate for Newton and elected a member of the parliamentary committee of the Trades Union Congress in 1911. In 1915 he was elected President of the TUC.

In 1915 Seddon became a founding member of the Socialist National Defence Committee. The SNDC was short-lived, becoming part of the British Workers League in 1916.