Frederick Brocklehurst (1866–1926) was aBritish political activist best known for his early involvement in thesocialist movement.
Brocklehurst began working in a silk mill when only ten years old. He subsequently worked at the presses of theManchester Courier newspaper, before obtaining a scholarship toQueens' College, Cambridge, where he graduated in law.[1] An activist in theLabour Church, he returned toManchester after John Trevor passed the church leadership to him.[2] He was a founder member of theIndependent Labour Party (ILP),[3] and in 1894 was elected to its national council.[4]
Brocklehurst stood for the ILP inBolton at the1895 general election.[2] In 1896, Brocklehurst was arrested and imprisoned for giving a speech at Boggart Hole Clough Park, on behalf of the ILP. This was in contravention of a controversial newbylaw prohibitingpublic speaking in Manchester's parks. However, public opinion was with Brocklehurst and in 1897, he was elected toManchester City Council forHarpurhey Ward, defeating the chairman of the Parks Committee. He was also elected to the Manchester School Board, on which he campaigned against school fees and subsidies for religious schools.[1][2] He became well known for proposing improved sporting and recreational facilities for the city.[5]
The ILP was one of the organisations which founded theLabour Representation Committee (LRC) in 1900; this organisation later became theLabour Party. Brocklehurst was initially proposed as its secretary, but he withdrew as he was unwilling to move toLondon, where the LRCwould be based. Instead, the less experiencedRamsay MacDonald was chosen.[6] At the1900 general election, Brocklehurst stood for theLabour Representation Committee inManchester South West.[7] Brocklehurst advocated for a British victory in theSecond Boer War, and this concerned many in the ILP.[8] He was enthusiastically supported by theManchester Guardian, but not by the officialLiberal Party, and was not elected.[7] He threatened to sue any opponent claiming that he was anatheist.[9]
Later in the 1900s, Brocklehurst qualified as abarrister. He defected from the ILP to theConservative Party, for which he stood unsuccessfully inPrestwich at theDecember 1910 general election.[10] In 1917, he started a localantisemitic group named "Britain for the British".[11]