{{Short description|British trade unionist (1863–1921)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''James Winstone''' (9 February 1863 – 27 July 1921) was a British trade unionist
Born in Risca, Winstone worked from the age of eight, first at a local brickworks, then at Risca United Colliery. He was elected checkweighman, and worked with William Brace to campaign against the sliding pay scale. As a result, he was a prominent founder member of the South Wales Miners' Federation (SWMF) in 1898.<ref>Robin Page Arnot, ''South Wales Miners'', p.142</ref>
Winstone was also active in the Independent Labour Party, and was a Baptist lay preacher.<ref>Kenneth Douglas Brown, ''The First Labour Party'', p.85</ref> He was elected for the Labour Party to Risca Urban District Council, then to Abersychan council, which he chaired in 1911. In 1907, he was elected to Monmouthshire County Council.<ref>''Justice of the Peace'', Vol.85, p.362</ref> He stood at Monmouth Boroughs at the 1906 general election, but received no backing from his union, and was not elected.<ref>David Howell, ''British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888-1906'', p.28</ref> In 1912, he was elected as Vice President of the SWMF, the first socialist to such a position.<ref>Robin Page Arnot, ''South Wales Miners'', p.333</ref> He was selected as the Labour candidate for the 1915 Merthyr Tydfil by-election, the seat having previously been held by Keir Hardie, but he was defeated by Charles Butt Stanton of the British Workers League, who had resigned as a miners' agent to run with Conservative and Liberal support as a pro-war independent labour candidate.<ref>Kenneth O. Morgan, ''Wales in British Politics'', p.276</ref><ref>Kenneth O. Morgan, ''Rebirth of a nation: Wales 1880-1980'', p.165</ref> In 1915, he replaced Brace as union president, serving until his death. He also stood in Merthyr at the 1918 general election, but was again unsuccessful. In 1920, he chaired Monmouthshire County Council.<ref>"[https://biography.wales/article/s-WINS-JAM-1863 Winstone, James]", Dictionary of Welsh Biography</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-npo|union}} {{succession box|title=Agent for the Eastern Valleys District of the South Wales Miners' Federation|years=1901–1921|before=''New position''|after=Arthur Jenkins}} {{succession box | title = Vice-President of the South Wales Miners Federation | years = 1912–1920 | before = William Brace | after = Enoch Morrell }} {{succession box | title = President of the South Wales Miners Federation | years = 1920–1921 | before = William Brace | after = Vernon Hartshorn }} {{s-ppo}} {{succession box|title=Wales Division representative on the National Administrative Council of the Independent Labour Party|years=1912–1913|before=Harry Davies|after=John Watt}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winstone, James}} Category:1863 births Category:1921 deaths Category:Councillors in Wales Category:Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Category:Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Category:British trade union leaders Category:People from Risca