John Banfield

Who was John Banfield?

John William Banfield was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician, who served as Member of Parliament for Wednesbury from 1932 until his death.

Banfield unsuccessfully contested the 1918 general election in Birmingham Aston, and was also unsuccessful in Fulham West at a by-election in 1930 and at the 1931 general election.

In 1932, the Conservative MP for Wednesbury, Viscount Ednam succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Dudley, triggering a by-election in July 1932. Banfield, who was by then General Secretary of the National Union of Operative Bakers and Confectioners, was selected as Labour's candidate, hoping to regain a seat which had been held by Labour from 1918 to 1931.

After a campaign focusing on the means test for unemployment benefit, Banfield won the by-election. He was re-elected at the 1935 general election, and died shortly before the 1945 general election.