Ellen Wilkinson
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The Right Honourable Ellen Wilkinson |
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Wilkinson in 1940
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| Minister of Education | |
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In office 3 August 1945 – 6 February 1947 (died in office) |
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| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Richard Law |
| Succeeded by | George Tomlinson |
| Parliamentary Secretary for the Home Department | |
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In office 8 October 1940 – 23 May 1945 |
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| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | George Ridley |
| Succeeded by | Harold Laski |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Pensions | |
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In office 17 May 1940 – 8 October 1940 |
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| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Chairman of the Labour Party | |
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In office 4 January 1944 – 3 August 1945 |
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| Leader | Clement Attlee |
| Member of Parliament for Jarrow |
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In office 14 November 1935 – 6 February 1947 |
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| Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough East |
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In office 30 October 1924 – 27 October 1931 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 October 1891 Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, UK |
| Died | 6 February 1947 (aged 55) St Mary's Hospital, London |
| Political party | Labour |
Ellen Cicely Wilkinson PC (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her career, as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow, she became a national figure when she figured prominently in the 1936 Jarrow March of the town's unemployed to London, to petition for the right to work. Although unsuccessful at that time, the march provided an iconic image for the 1930s, and helped to form post-Second World War attitudes to unemployment and social justice.
Wilkinson was born into a poor though ambitious Manchester family, and embraced socialism at an early age. After graduating from the University of Manchester she worked for a women's suffrage organisation and later as a trade union officer. Inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917, Wilkinson joined the British Communist Party, and preached revolutionary socialism while seeking constitutional routes to political power through the Labour Party. She was elected Labour MP for Middlesbrough East in 1924, and supported the 1926 General Strike. In the 1929–31 Labour government she served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the junior Health Minister. Following her defeat at Middlesbrough in 1931, Wilkinson became a prolific journalist and writer before returning to parliament as Jarrow's MP in 1935. She was a strong advocate for the Republican faction in the Spanish Civil War, and made several visits to the battle zones.
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