Alfred Barnes (Labour politician)

Alfred John Barnes (17 July 1887 – 26 November 1974)[1] was a British Labour and Co-operative politician.[2]

The Right Honourable Alfred Barnes
Minister of Transport
In office 3 August 1945 – 26 October 1951
Prime Minister	Clement Attlee
Preceded by	The Lord Leathers
Succeeded by	John Maclay
Chair of the Co-operative Party
In office 1924–1945
Preceded by	William Henry Watkins
Succeeded by	William Coldrick
Member of Parliament for East Ham South
In office 14 November 1935 – 26 May 1955
Preceded by	Malcolm Campbell-Johnston
Succeeded by	Albert Oram
In office 15 November 1922 – 27 October 1931
Preceded by	Clement Edwards
Succeeded by	Malcolm Campbell-Johnston
Personal details
Born	(1887-07-17)17 July 1887 Plaistow, Newham, England
Died	26 November 1974(1974-11-26) (aged 87) Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, England
Political party	Labour and Co-operative
Alma mater	Northampton Institute Central School of Arts and Crafts

Born in North Woolwich, he was the youngest child of William Barnes, a docker. His brother Billy became a professional footballer.[3] Barnes lost a leg in a fairground accident at the age of 8. He was educated at the Northampton Institute and the Central School of Arts and Crafts.[2]

Barnes worked originally as an artist in gold and silver.[2] He was an early member of the Independent Labour Party and was heavily involved in the co-operative movement.[2] He was chairman of the London Co-operative Society for nine years until 1923 and was a founder of the Co-operative Party.[2] He became the Party's chairman in 1924 and served until 1945. He was also a director and President of the National Cooperative Publishing Society.

In November 1922, Barnes was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham South. In 1925, he was appointed a Labour Whip and served as a whip in Government, as Junior Lord of the Treasury. However, he was forced to resign in October 1930 - although his position as a director of the National Cooperative Publishing Society was unpaid, parliamentary rules dictated that a minister cannot be a director of a public company (although they could be of a private company): Barnes chose to remain on the co-op board rather than as a whip. Like many Labour MPs, he lost his seat in the 1931 general election but regained it in 1935.

In 1945, Barnes was made a Privy Counsellor and Minister of War Transport, later Minister of Transport, serving until the fall of the Labour government in 1951.[2] He stood down as a Member of Parliament at the 1955 general election.