Harold Clay

Harold Ewart Clay (1886 – September 1961) was a British trade union leader, also known for his political and educational activities.

Born in Leeds, Clay worked as a tram driver. He became active in the Social Democratic Federation, then its successor, the British Socialist Party, and was a keen advocate of the BSP's affiliation to the Labour Party, serving as president of the Leeds Labour Representation Council in 1913/14. In 1914, he founded the Leeds Tenants Defence League, which led an unsuccessful rent strike in support of the construction of municipal housing.

Clay was prominent in the United Vehicle Workers union, presiding over its conference in 1913.

In 1940, Arthur Deakin, Assistant General Secretary of the TGWU, became its acting General Secretary, and Clay was appointed to fill his post. Three years later, he became president of the WEA, serving for fifteen years. In 1958, he stood down from his union and political posts, taking a post on the Road Transport Executive.