Ernest E. Hunter

Ernest Edwin Hunter (1883 – 1946) was a British political activist and journalist.

Born in Southborough, in Kent, Hunter became interested in socialism in his youth, and joined the Social Democratic Federation in 1901. He later switched to the Independent Labour Party (ILP), and was also an organiser of The Clarion's van movement. In 1913, he worked as a full-time election agent for the Labour Party in Bishop Auckland, and from 1914 to 1916, he was the political agent for the Northumberland Miners' Association.[1]

In 1918, Hunter became the secretary of the No-Conscription Fellowship, but with the end of World War I, this was wound up. From 1921, he served on the National Administrative Council of the ILP, and chaired its London and Southern Counties division. He wrote a number of publications for the party, such as the ABC of Socialism and Socialism at Work, and became the secretary of the ILP's Information Committee.[1] He was close to Ramsay MacDonald, even after MacDonald left the party, and also to John Beckett, with whom he shared membership of the 1917 Club.[2] However, Fenner Brockway disliked Hunter, describing him as "a master of manipulation".[3]

The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party, for which Hunter stood unsuccessfully in Hackney Central at the 1923 and 1924 UK general elections.[4] He was the editor of the ILP's newspaper, the New Leader, for a short period in 1929 and 1930.[5] The following year, he opposed the split of the ILP from the Labour Party, deciding to leave the ILP. He found work with the Daily Herald, soon becoming its political editor.[2] He also devoted time to the National Union of Journalists, and served as its president in 1940/41.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 The Labour Who's Who. London: Labour Publishing Company. 1927. p. 88.
  2. 1 2 Beckett, Francis (2016). Fascist in the Family: The Tragedy of John Beckett M.P. Taylor & Francis. pp. 38&ndash, 63. ISBN 1317416031.
  3. ↑ Brockway, Fenner (1977). Towards Tomorrow. London: Hart Davis, McGibbon. p. 69. ISBN 0246108479.
  4. ↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 20. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  5. ↑ Bullock, Ian (2017). Under Siege: The Independent Labour Party in Interwar Britain. Athabasca University Press. p. 165. ISBN 1771991550.
  6. ↑ "National Officers". National Union of Journalists. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Harry Dubery		 London representative on the Independent Labour Party National Administrative Council
1919–1926		 Succeeded by
John Scurr
Media offices
Preceded by
Fenner Brockway		 Editor of the New Leader
1929–1930		 Succeeded by
John Paton
Trade union offices
Preceded by
J. W. T. Ley		 President of the National Union of Journalists
1940–1941		 Succeeded by
Tom Foster
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