William Whiteley (politician)



William Whiteley (3 October 1882 – 3 November 1955) was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaydon in County Durham.

William Whiteley, not to be confused with the founder of the Department Store of the same name, was a Durham miner by background and a lodge official. He was an active trade unionist and member of the Labour Party.

He stood unsuccessfully in Blaydon for Labour in the 1918 general election, but was successful in the election four years later. He went on to be the MP for Blaydon from 1922 to 1931. His defeat in the 1931 general election followed the events of that summer when Ramsay MacDonald quit the Labour Party to form a National Government and the election called in October that year reduced the Labour representation to a rump of 52 MPs. However Whiteley was re-elected at the 1935 general election and went on to represent the constituency for the next twenty years until his death in 1955 at the age of 74. In the consequent by-election, the seat was held for Labour by Robert Woof.

President of the Durham Miners' Homes for the Aged 1927 – 1955, Whiteley became a Privy Councillor after 1943 and was Labour Chief Whip in the House of Commons for thirteen years. During the government of Clement Attlee of 1945 – 1951 was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury.