Will Ballantine

William Ballantine (1900 –) was a Scottish fireman, trade unionist and socialist activist.

Ballantine was born in Edinburgh and was educated in Lanarkshire. He later worked as a railway fireman.

Ballantine joined the Independent Labour Party, and remained loyal to it after it split from the Labour Party in 1932. He was due to stand in local elections in Perth for the ILP, but brokered a deal with the Labour Party that he would withdraw in their favour. Although this was criticised by some party members, it achieved a longer-term influence for the ILP locally. By 1939, he was one of the most prominent trade unionists in the party, and he was elected to its National Administrative Committee, serving until 1950. He stood for the party in Bradford East at the 1945 UK general election, taking third place, with 14.6% of the votes cast.

In line with ILP policy, Ballantine opposed British involvement in World War II. He was the chair of the No Conscription Fellowship founded in 1939, although he was not a pacifist, and accepted the need for socialist opposition to Nazism.