The Inspiration of Keir Hardie

 Bob Holman
 guardian.co.uk

James Keir Hardie

Every 25 January in Scotland, Robert Burns's birthday is marked by celebrations across the country. Yet the birth date of an equally significant Scot, Keir Hardie, on 15 August, is ignored. With a general election in the offing, it is appropriate to remember the man who, as Tony Benn puts it, was "Labour's first, and in many ways, greatest leader".

Born illegitimate near Glasgow in 1856, he went down the coal mines at the age of 10. As a young man, he was sacked for being a spokesman for the trade union. He later accepted a post as a trade union official which, along with his political activities, led eventually to his famous general election victory at West Ham South. By this time he was a socialist whose ideas owed little to Marxism and more to his experience of poverty and his conversion to Christianity.

After losing his seat at West Ham, Hardie gained another stunning victory at Merthyr Tydfil. He was joined by others in the Commons who elected him the first chair of the parliamentary Labour party. More than anyone, he succeeded in keeping Labour distinct from the Liberal party. When Labour's political fortunes ebbed, some flirted with an alliance with the Liberals. Hardie was prepared to co-operate on certain issues but never to lose the identity of Labour. He regarded the Labour party as the natural home of the working class. He was proved right after his death when the Liberals declined and Labour flourished.

Hardie also put state welfare on the political agenda. The birth of the welfare state is usually associated with the Liberal reformers of 1906-11. It is overlooked that, when Hardie entered politics, the Liberal party gave priority to the free market and even opposed unemployment relief. He argued that, by upholding virtually unregulated private enterprise, both Liberals and Tories protected the wealthy. He and his colleagues campaigned so vigorously that the Liberals, realising they would lose working-class votes, turned themselves into the reformers. But Hardie was the real initiator.

He had his critics. His own colleagues admitted that he was not a success as a parliamentary leader. His obituary in the Times noted: "He inherited more than an average share of Scottish dourness." Yet in Labour celebrations his singing and dancing were to the fore.

What cannot be doubted is Hardie's courage. In 1914, he opposed Britain's entry into the war. He was shouted down, abused and threatened. He died in 1915 without a tribute in the Commons. But hundreds of mourners attended his funeral in Glasgow. He was not to know that within 10 years, Labour would be in power.

It is difficult to transpose Hardy into modern times. But Labour should learn that radical policies do not necessarily lose votes. Hardie won much support from working-class people, from religious folk, and from middle-class sympathisers.

In his four general elections in Merthyr Tydfil he was never in danger of losing. Today, with only 6% of MPs from working-class backgrounds, it is time to promote more representation from those who know life at the hard end.

My admiration for Hardie is that his socialism was expressed both in his politics and his everyday life. He refused the offer of a safe seat and a salary from the Liberals. He detested titles, pomp and expensive lifestyles. Few contemporary Labour MPs put principles before pocket. And that is why Keir Hardie is worth remembering.