Edwin Gooch

Edwin George Gooch (15 January 1889 – 2 August 1964) was a British Labour Party politician and trade union leader.

Gooch was born in Wymondham, Norfolk, where he lived his entire life. He worked for a printer, then became a journalist. He joined the National Union of Journalists and became chair of its Norwich branch. He worked as election agent for George Edwards. He was elected as a Labour Party member of his parish, district and county councils, later being appointed an alderman for Norfolk County Council[1]

In 1935, when Wymondham Urban District Council was created, Gooch became the first Chairman of the new UDC and held the office for most of the period up to 1946. His wife, Ethel Gooch, became the council's first lady member in 1935 and its first lady Chairman in 1951.

Gooch was elected to the executive committee of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers in 1926, and served as the union's president from 1928 until his death in 1964.[1]

At the 1931 general election, he was an unsuccessful candidate in the Conservative-held South Norfolk constituency.

Gooch did not contest the 1935 general election, but at the 1945 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for North Norfolk, defeating the Conservative MP Thomas Cook. He held the seat until his death shortly before the 1964 general election, aged 75.

He was chairman of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee from 1955 to 1956.

References
  1. Griffiths, Clare (2007). Labour and the Countryside. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 359. ISBN 9780199287437.
Trade union offices
Preceded by
Bill Holmes		 President of the National Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers
1928–1964		 Succeeded by
Bert Hazell
Preceded by
Joseph Forbes Duncan		 President of the International Landworkers' Federation
1950–1959		 Succeeded by
Position abolished
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Thomas Cook		 Member of Parliament for North Norfolk
1945–1964		 Succeeded by
Bert Hazell
Party political offices
Preceded by
Edith Summerskill		 Chair of the Labour Party
1955–1956		 Succeeded by
Margaret Herbison


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.