{{Short description|British trade unionist and politician (1877–1942)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}} {{Use British English|date=August 2017}} thumb|Hall in 1923
'''James Henry Hall''' (24 March 1877 – 6 June 1942), known as '''J. H. Hall''', was an English trade unionist and Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Whitechapel and St Georges division of Stepney from 1930 to 1931, and again from 1935 to 1942.<ref name="rayment">{{Rayment-hc|w|2|date=March 2012}}</ref>
==Career== Hall became interested in trade unionism in his youth, and rose to become a member of the executive committee of the Transport and General Workers Union. He became an alderman of Stepney Borough Council, and before his election to Parliament was employed as a foreman by the Port of London Authority.<ref name="times-obit">{{cite news|title=Obituary: Mr. James Henry Hall, MP|date=9 June 1942|work=The Times|location=London, UK|page=6}}</ref>
He was first elected to the House of Commons a by-election in December 1930, following the death of the Labour MP Harry Gosling.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33667|date=5 December 1930|page=7759}}</ref><ref name="craig1918-1949">{{cite book|last=Craig|first=F.W.S.|authorlink=F. W. S. Craig|title=British parliamentary election results 1918–1949|orig-date=1969|edition=3rd|year=1983|publisher=Parliamentary Research Services|location=Chichester, UK|isbn=978-0-900178-06-1|page=53}}</ref>
His 39% share of the vote was well below the 63% achieved by Gosling at the 1929 general election, the Liberal vote having increased significantly while the Communist Party contested the seat for the first time; their candidate was the party's General Secretary Harry Pollitt, who won nearly 10% of the votes.<ref name="craig1918-1949"/><ref name="times-1930-12-04">{{cite news|title=Whitechapel Result: Labour Majority Reduced|date=4 December 1930|work=The Times|page=16}}</ref> Hall blamed the fall in the Labour vote on the economic difficulties faced by the Labour Government, and on a "flood of misrepresentation" from the government's opponents.<ref name="times-1930-12-04"/>
At the general election in October 1931, the left-wing vote was again split. Pollitt polled over 10% of the votes and Hall lost the seat to Barnett Janner, the Liberal who had been runner-up at the by-election.<ref name="craig1918-1949"/> However, at the 1935 general election Hall re-took the seat in a straight fight with Janner.<ref name="craig1918-1949"/> In reporting his victory, ''The Times'' noted that he had "worked in the trade union movement for over 40 years".<ref name="times-1930-12-04a">{{cite news|title=The General Election: First Returns, Polling In The Boroughs|date=15 November 1935|work=The Times|page=8}}</ref>
Hall died in office in June 1942, aged 65, having been too ill to attend the House of Commons for the previous eight months. At the resulting by-election for his parliamentary seat, the Labour candidate Walter "Stoker" Edwards was returned unopposed.<ref name="times-obita">{{cite news|title=Stoker becomes M.P.|date=10 August 1942|work=The Times|page=6 }}</ref>
==Family== Hall married Theresa Ellen Coleman from Leyton. They had a son and three daughters.<ref name="times-obit"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{Hansard-contribs | mr-james-hall | J. H. Hall }} *[https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1942-06-09a.893.2 Announcement of death to Parliament]
{{S-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef | before = Harry Gosling }} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Whitechapel & St Georges | years = 1930 – 1931 }} {{s-aft | after = Barnett Janner }} {{s-bef | before = Barnett Janner }} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Whitechapel & St Georges | years = 1935 – 1942 }} {{s-aft | after = Stoker Edwards }} {{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, J. H.}} Category:1877 births Category:1942 deaths Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:UK MPs 1929–1931 Category:UK MPs 1935–1945 Category:English trade unionists Category:Members of Stepney Metropolitan Borough Council Category:Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs