John Thwaites (British politician)

Sir John Thwaites (24 May 1815 – 8 August 1870) was a British politician who was the first Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works and therefore the first Leader of local government in London.

Thwaites was a native of Maulds Meaburn, Westmorland where his father was a farmer. He attended Reagill School. As the third son he was not expected to follow in his father's stead, and went to London in 1832 to work for Henry Bardwell, a woollen draper on Holborn Hill; in 1835, he became a partner in the business, which had a base on Oxford Street. In 1842, he left to establish his own company at 18 Blackman Street in The Borough; it later moved to 61-2 Borough High Street.

His religion led Thwaites into municipal affairs. He was a Strict Baptist and preached at several locations including the Surrey Tabernacle (where he was Deacon for sixteen years), St Mary's Newington Butts, St Paul's Deptford and St Saviour; this led to opportunities to be a churchwarden and Guardian of the Poor. He became known for his work with the local community and was Chairman of the Guardians. Thwaites also acted to support local business: when he discovered there was a monopoly on the supply of gas in Southwark, Thwaites set up the Surrey Gas Consumers company in 1849, a mutual association of businesses, to get alternative and much cheaper supplies.

He was made a member of more than one Vestry, which handled local government for the parish, and was also delegated to the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers from Southwark. He knew the problem of sewerage (the most pressing problem in London) well enough to write a well-received and knowledgeable pamphlet about it. Politically, Thwaites supported Parliamentary Reform and the Liberal Party, especially Apsley Pellatt who was Liberal MP for Southwark. He also supported the early closing movement which campaigned to allow shopworkers more time off work.

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