Alfred Barton

Alfred Barton (30 July 1868 – 9 December 1933) was a British socialist politician.

Born in Kempston in Bedfordshire, Barton began working in a library at the age of twelve. He joined the Socialist League at some point in the 1880s, then in about 1890, he moved to Manchester, where he quickly found work at the John Rylands Library. At this time, Alf was on the anarchist wing of the Socialist League, and was prominent in the protests following the police provocations against Walsall Anarchists. Although he was arrested several times for making speeches, he was firmly opposed to violence in the anarchist cause.

Barton married in 1894, who was to become prominent in the co-operative movement, and the two moved to Sheffield in 1897. Alf joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and quickly became prominent locally through his opposition to the Second Boer War; he later also joined the Social Democratic Federation. He joined the Shop Assistants' Union and was its delegate to Sheffield Federated Trades Council, and within it campaigned for it to affiliate to the Labour Representation Committee. It did so, but resulting disagreements about local candidates led the council to split, Barton being prominent on the local Labour Representation Committee. In 1907, he was elected to Sheffield City Council for the renamed Labour Party, representing Brightside.

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