Hardie, James Keir
Hardie, James Keir (1856–1915). Socialist politician. Born in Lanarkshire, Hardie grew up in extreme poverty. While working as a journalist he was instrumental in organizing the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire miners, becoming secretary of the Scottish Miners' Federation in 1886 and, in 1887, chairman of the Scottish Labour Party. In 1892 he was elected as an independent Labour MP for South West Ham; the following year he established the Independent Labour Party. Hardie was a thoroughly class-conscious socialist (outraging Westminster opinion by wearing a cloth-cap and tweed jacket in the Commons), but was also acutely aware of the moderate nature of the British trade union movement, and he deliberately downplayed his socialist creed in order to persuade the Trades Union Congress of the need for the foundation (1900) of the Labour Representation Committee, forerunner of the Labour Party. Hardie believed that international working-class solidarity would prevent war in 1914, and never recovered from the realization of the strength of nationalism amongst the working classes.
Geoffrey Alderman
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Hardie, James Keir
