Mid and West Lothian Labour Federation

The Mid and West Lothian Labour Federation was a trade union representing coal and shale miners in the West Lothian area of Scotland.

The union was founded in 1886 with 1,577 members, but by 1892 its membership had fallen to only 500, and it was renamed as the Amalgamated Miners and Manual Workers Union (AMMW). This new focus led to an immediate rise in membership, which reached 3,000 in 1893.^[1]

The union principally operated in West Lothian, but in its early years, it also established branches in Lanarkshire. After the Lanarkshire Miners County Union (LMCU) was founded in 1893, these led to demarcation disputes, and although both unions were founder components of the Scottish Miners' Federation (SMF), the AMMW was later expelled. Robert Small of the LMCU tried to form a rival union in West Lothian, but failed to gain the support of leading activist James Doonan, and eventually the AMMW rejoined the SMF.^[2]

Around 1920, the union became known as the West Lothian Mineworkers Union.^[1] In 1945, it was merged with other unions to form the Stirling and Lothians Area of the National Union of Mineworkers.^[3]

General Secretaries

1886: John Wilson

1911: James Doonan

1919: F. Young

1920s: James Doonan

1932: John Armstrong

References

^ ^a ^b Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of British Trade Unions, vol.II, p.226
^ Alan Campbell, The Scottish Miners, 1874-1939: Trade unions and politics, p.46
^ C. P. Snodgrass, The county of East Lothian, p.162

[directory-1] Arthur Marsh and Victoria Ryan, Historical Directory of British Trade Unions, vol.II, p.226

[2] Alan Campbell, The Scottish Miners, 1874-1939: Trade unions and politics, p.46

[3] C. P. Snodgrass, The county of East Lothian, p.162

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v t e Miners' Federation of Great Britain (MFGB) and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
Presidents	1889 Pickard 1904 En. Edwards 1912 Smillie 1922 Smith 1929 Richards 1931 Eb. Edwards 1932 Lee 1934 J. Jones 1939 Lawther 1954 E. Jones 1960 Machen 1960 Ford 1971 Gormley 1982 Scargill 2002 Lavery 2012 Wilson
Vice-Presidents	1889 Woods 1909 Smillie 1912 Harvey 1914 House 1917 Smith 1922 Walsh 1924 Richards 1929 Eb. Edwards 1931 Lee 1932 J. Jones 1933 Davies 1934 Lawther 1939 Bowman 1950 E. Jones 1954 T. Jones 1961 Collindridge 1963 Bullough 1969 Schofield 1973 McGahey 1987 Thompson 1989 Vacant 1992 Cave 2002 Stanley 2010 Wilson 2012 Thomas
General Secretaries	1889 Ashton 1919 Hodges 1924 Cook 1932 Eb. Edwards 1946 Horner 1959 Paynter 1968 Daly 1984 Heathfield 1992 Scargill 1992 Vacant? 2002 Kemp 2007 Kitchen
Treasurers	1889 En. Edwards 1904 Abraham 1918 Robson 1921 Richardson
Affiliates and areas	Bristol Cleveland Cokemen Colliery Officials and Staffs Cumberland Derbyshire Durham Forest of Dean Kent Lancashire and Cheshire Leicestershire Midland Counties (Cannock Chase North Staffordshire Old Hill Pelsall Shropshire Warwickshire West Bromwich) Northumberland North Wales Nottinghamshire Scotland (Ayrshire Fife and Kinross Lanarkshire Mid and East Lothian Mid and West Lothian Stirling) Somerset South Derbyshire South Wales Yorkshire
Strikes	1893 1912 1926 1969 1972 1974 1984–1985