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 | 17 July 1887 Plaistow, Newham, England |
| Died | 26 November 1974 (aged 87) Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, England |
| Political party | Labour and Co-operative |
| Alma mater | Northampton Institute Central School of Arts and Crafts |
Alfred John Barnes (17 July 1887 – 26 November 1974)[1] was a British Labour and Co-operative politician.[2]
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.
