Frederick Maddison

Frederick Maddison (17 August 1856 – 12 March 1937) was a British politician.

Born in Boston, Lincolnshire, Maddison studied in Kingston-upon-Hull before becoming a compositor. He joined the Typographical Association and soon rose in prominence, becoming President of the Trades Union Congress in 1886. In 1887, he became the first working class member of Hull Corporation. He took a post in the Labour Department of the Board of Trade,Michael Stenton and Stephen Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs: Volume II, 1886-1918"] and became a labour journalist. [Eugenio F. Biagini and Alastair J. Reid, "Currents of Radicalism: Popular Radicalism, Organised Labour, and Party Politics in Britain"]

Maddison stood as a Lib-Lab candidate for Parliament on several occasions, first in Kingston-upon-Hull Central at the 1892 and 1895 UK general elections. He was elected at the Sheffield Brightside by-election, 1897, becoming Sheffield's first working class Member of Parliament, but narrowly lost the seat at the 1900 election. A major factor in his defeat was his support for the Boers during the Boer War. [Ed. Clyde Binfield et al, "The History of the City of Sheffield: Volume I: Politics"]

In 1906, Maddison was elected for Burnley, but he lost this seat in January 1910. He never returned to Parliament, despite standing at Darlington in December 1910, Holderness in 1918, South Dorset in 1922 and finally Reading in 1923.

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