Thursday 21 June 2007

First Co-op Candidate in Manchester

T.W. Mercer, of the Co-operative Union, was nominated to fight the Moss Side constituency for the 1922 General Election. This was the first time Moss Side had the choice besides Liberals or Conservative. Manchester then had 8 seats in Parliament, and it was the first in the city to nominate a Co-operative Party candidate. Didn't win. It was not until 1945 that Labour captured the seat with Will Griffiths.

T.W. Mercer (1885-1947) was a notable writer on co-operative matters. Cambridge Co-operator did a review of one of his books, still available, last month. Link

Click the pic to get the full text.