Frank Cousins

Frank Cousins
The Right Honourable; Frank Cousins
Minister of Technology
	In office; 18 October 1964 – 4 July 1966
Prime Minister	Harold Wilson
Preceded by	Office Created
Succeeded by	Tony Benn
Member of Parliament for Nuneaton
	In office; 21 January 1965 – 5 December 1966
Preceded by	Frank Bowles
Succeeded by	Les Huckfield
Personal details
Born	8 September 1904; Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, England
Died	11 June 1986 (aged 81)
Political party	Labour

Frank Cousins PC (8 September 1904 – 11 June 1986) was a British trade union leader and Labour politician.

He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire. His father was a miner and Frank followed him into this industry in 1918, joining the Yorkshire Miners' Association. However after five years he became a lorry driver, originally driving coal, and then in 1931 as a long-distance lorry driver, transporting meat between Scotland and London. He became a member of the road transport section of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), of which he became a full-time official in Doncaster in July 1938. He was appointed National Secretary of Road Transport (Commercial) Group in October 1948, contested the TGWU Assistant General Secretaryship in 1948 and 1955, securing the position on the latter attempt.[1] He was also elected to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee the same year, but resigned in March 1956.

Cousins was appointed acting General Secretary of the TGWU in February 1956, due to poor health on the part of Jock Tiffin. He was elected General Secretary in May 1956, following Tiffin's death, and held the position until 1969. From 1956 to 1969, he was a member of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress and was President of the International Transport Workers' Federation from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1964.

Cousins played a significant role in helping Harold Wilson become leader of the Labour Party [1] and served in Wilson's cabinet as Minister of Technology from October 1964 until his resignation on 11 June 1966 to protest against a Government-backed law freezing incomes and prices.[2] His appointment as a Minister was notable as he is only one of two recent Ministers (the other being Patrick Gordon-Walker) who was appointed to the role without being either a Member of Parliament or a member of the House of Lords.[3] He was also made a Privy Counsellor in 1964.

He was elected Member of Parliament for Nuneaton at a by-election in January 1965 and remained an MP until November 1966. During this period Harry Nicholas took over as acting general secretary of the TGWU.

Personal life

He married Annie Judd in December 1930; the couple had four children: John, Brenda, Michael and Frances.

Frank Cousins sat for sculptor Alan Thornhill for a portrait in clay.[4] The correspondence file relating to the Frank Cousins bust is held in the archive[5] of the Henry Moore Foundation's Henry Moore Institute in Leeds and the terracotta remains in the collection of the artist.

References

"Papers of Frank Cousins". mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
Ap (12 June 1986). "Frank Cousins Is Dead; British Union Leader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
Beetham, David; Weir, Stuart (11 September 2002). Political Power and Democratic Control in Britain. Routledge. ISBN 9781134864119.
portrait head of Frank Cousins Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine image of sculpture
HMI Archive Archived 12 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frank Cousins
Catalogue of Cousins' papers, held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Frank Bowles	Member of Parliament for Nuneaton 1965–1966	Succeeded by Les Huckfield
Trade union offices
Preceded by Jock Tiffin	Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union 1955–1956	Succeeded by Harry Nicholas
Preceded by Jock Tiffin	General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union (Harry Nicholas acting 1964–1966) 1956–1969	Succeeded by Jack Jones
Preceded by Wilfred Beard and Joseph O'Hagan	Trades Union Congress representative to the AFL-CIO 1959 With: Frederick Hayday	Succeeded by Claude Bartlett and Bill Webber
Preceded by Hans Jahn	President of the International Transport Workers' Federation 1958–1960	Succeeded by Roger Dekeyzer
Preceded by Roger Dekeyzer	President of the International Transport Workers' Federation 1962–1965	Succeeded by Hans Düby
Political offices
Preceded by Robert Carr (Minister of Technical Co-operation)	Minister of Technology 1964–1966	Succeeded by Tony Benn

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

[MRC-1] "Papers of Frank Cousins". mrc-catalogue.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

[2] Ap (12 June 1986). "Frank Cousins Is Dead; British Union Leader". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 March 2017.

[3] Beetham, David; Weir, Stuart (11 September 2002). Political Power and Democratic Control in Britain. Routledge. ISBN 9781134864119.

[4] rtrait head of Frank Cousins Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine image of sculpture

[5] HMI Archive Archived 12 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Transport and General Workers' Union
General Secretaries	1922: Ernest Bevin 1940: Arthur Deakin 1955: Jock Tiffin 1955: Frank Cousins 1969: Jack Jones 1978: Moss Evans 1985: Ron Todd 1992: Bill Morris 2004: Tony Woodley
Deputy General Secretaries	1974: Harry Urwin 1980: Alec Kitson 1986: Bill Morris 1992: Jack Adams 1999: Margaret Prosser 2002: Tony Woodley 2003: Jack Dromey
Assistant General Secretaries	1924: John Cliff 1935: Arthur Deakin 1940: Harold Clay 1948: Jock Tiffin 1955: Frank Cousins 1956: Harry Nicholas 1968: Harry Urwin 1974: Vacant 1985: Eddie Haigh and Larry Smith 1988: Eddie Haigh 1991: Vacant 1999: Barry Camfield and Jimmy Elsby 2000: Barry Camfield and Ray Collins
Forerunners	Amalgamated Society of Watermen, Lightermen and Bargemen Amalgamated Carters, Lurrymen and Motormen's Union Amalgamated Association of Carters and Motormen Associated Horsemen's Union Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers' Union Labour Protection League National Amalgamated Labourers' Union National Union of Docks, Wharves and Shipping Staffs National Union of Ships' Clerks, Grain Weighers and Coalmeters National Union of Vehicle Workers National Amalgamated Coal Workers' Union North of England Trimmers' and Teemers Association North of Scotland Horse and Motormen's Association United Vehicle Workers
Other topics	Amalgamations National Transport Workers' Federation Trades Union Congress Transport House Unite