Keir Hardie
Overview
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. Hardie is regarded as one of the primary founders of the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
as well as the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
of which it later was a part.
James Keir Hardie was born 15 August 1856 in a one-roomed cottage on the western edge of Newhouse, North Lanarkshire
Newhouse, North Lanarkshire
Newhouse is a hamlet and major road interchange located in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. Sited 2 miles from the village of Salsburgh, from nearby Holytown and about north east of Motherwell....
, near Holytown
Holytown
Holytown is a small village outside Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.-History:The area was born and grew on the back of the nearby coal mining industries in the 18th century, although the roots of the town stretch back to at least the 17th Century, where records show that a meeting house...
, a small town close to Motherwell
Motherwell
Motherwell is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south east of Glasgow. The name "Moderwelt" appears on a map of Lanarkshire made by Timothy Pont some time between 1583 and 1611 and printed in the Netherlands in around 1652, although the settlement was probably little more...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. His mother, Mary Keir, was a domestic servant and his father, David Hardie, was a ship's carpenter.