Fred Barton (1917–17 December 1963) was a British socialist politician.
Barton joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and was elected chairman of the Stretford Trades Council.[1] By 1944, he was the chairman of the Manchester Federation of the ILP, and was the party's second choice to contest the Manchester Rusholme by-election after Fenner Brockway, but neither accepted the opportunity, and Robert Edwards stood instead.[2]
At the 1950 UK general election, Barton stood for the party in Newcastle upon Tyne[3] He then stood for the party at the Ormskirk by-election, 1951[1]
Barton was elected as chairman of the ILP in March 1951.[4] While chairman, he campaigned against apartheid in South Africa[5] and the Korean War.[6]
In April 1954, Barton was succeeded as chairman by Annie Maxton.[7] Later in the year, he resigned from the ILP and joined the Labour Party. At the 1955 UK general election, he was the unsuccessful Labour candidate in Stretford, taking 39.1% of the vote, and in 1959, he took 40.4% in Middleton and Prestwich. He became the Liverpool district organiser of the Tobacco Workers' Union. In the run-up to the 1964 UK general election, he was the Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Liverpool Kirkdale, but he died suddenly in late 1963 of a thrombosis.[4]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Gibson |
Chair of the Independent Labour Party 1951–1954 |
Succeeded by Annie Maxton |
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