Alfred Gould

Alfred Gould (23 May 1856 – 30 May 1927) was a British trade unionist and politician.

Born in Kingston-upon-Hull, Gould became a carpenter, initially working aboard a ship but, by 1881, onshore in Hull. He joined the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners (ASC&J), and developed a keen interest in the labour movement. Convinced that there was a need for independent political representation for the movement, he was a founder member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), and was a leading supporter of Tom McCarthy's unsuccessful campaign in Kingston upon Hull West at the 1895 United Kingdom general election.

Hull Trades Council opposed the ILP and undertook little activity in the late 1890s, but Gould consistently raised the party's causes there, and in 1897 he won election to the council's executive committee. By 1905, he was the leading figure on the council, which was dominated by supporters of the new Labour Representation Committee. He won election to Hull City Council, and though he lost his seat in 1911, he regained it two years later, and was adopted as the party's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Hull West.