William Charles Steadman

William Charles Steadman, usually known as W. C. Steadman (12 July 1851 – 20 July 1911), was a prominent trade unionist and politician.

Born in Poplar, London, Steadman began work at the age of eight, and in 1866 became a barge builder. In 1873, he joined the River Thames Barge Builders Trades Union, becoming its general secretary in 1879 and holding the post until 1908. In 1890, he led a successful eighteen week strike, raising his profile.

In 1892, Steadman was elected as a Progressive Party member of London County Council, and in the 1892 general election he unsuccessfully stood as the Liberal Party candidate for Mid Kent; he lost again in the 1895 election in Hammersmith. He also joined the Fabian Society.

Steadman was finally elected as a Lib–Lab Member of Parliament (MP) for Stepney at a by-election in 1898. In 1899, he was elected to the Parliamentary Committee (later the General Council) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and in 1902 he was its President.

Steadman lost his seat at the 1900 general election, and went on to chair the first conference of the Labour Representation Committee, but left the organisation when asked to leave the Liberal Party. In 1904, he was elected as the Parliamentary Secretary of the TUC, the post which later became the General Secretary.

In 1906, Steadman again stood for the Liberal Party, and won Finsbury Central, although he lost the seat in the January 1910 general election. In 1911, he announced his intention to stand down from his TUC post, but died before this could take effect.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Steadman