Fred Jowett

Frederick William Jowett (31 January 1864 – 1 February 1944) was a British Labour politician, who served as First Commissioner of Works in the first Labour government, and therefore in the Cabinet of Ramsay MacDonald.

Early life Jowett was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 31 January 1864. He received little formal education and at the age of eight was working half-time at the local textile mill, moving to full-time work at the age of 13. In 1886, he was promoted to overlooker and after attending evening classes in weaving and design at Bradford Technical College (now the University of Bradford), was employed as a manager at the mill.

As a young man Jowett read the works of William Morris and in 1887 he joined the Socialist League. A few months later Jowett founded a branch of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford. As a member of the council Jowett instigated several important reforms that were eventually imitated by other authorities. In 1904 Bradford became the first local authority in Britain to provide free school meals. Another successful campaign was the clearing of a slum area and replacing it with new houses. Jowett was also a supporter of reforming the 1834 Poor Law. He was elected as a Poor Law Guardian and attempted to improve the quality of the food given to the children in the Bradford Workhouse.

Member of parliament for Bradford West

In the 1900 general election Jowett was the Independent Labour Party candidate in Bradford West. His strong opposition to the Second Boer War may have cost him the election, as he only lost by 41 votes.

With the Boer War over, Jowett comfortably won the seat in the 1906 general election.

Death and legacy

The Independent Labour Party opposed Britain's involvement in the Second World War. He was very critical of the way the government ran the country during the conflict. Jowett claimed that the government's Equality of Sacrifice policy was just propaganda and pointed out that workers' wages were falling well behind increasing prices.

Jowett died in Bradford on 1 February 1944, aged 80.

Footnotes

Works

What Made Me a Socialist. Glasgow, Scotland: Strickland Press, 1941.