Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.84
Object Name
Photograph
Title
'George Odger, the First Labour Candidate to go to the Poll. Beresford (Tory) 4682, Odger (Labour) 4382, Waterlow (Liberal) 2867.'
Place
Southwark, London, UK
People
Labour Party, George Odger
Events
Elections, 1870 Southwark By-election
Description
Formal Victorian group portrait, Labour parliamentary candidate George Odger wearing top hat stands by the fireplace, three election assistants surround him.
This photograph commemorates George Odger's participation in the 1870 Southwark by-election. The photograph declares him the first Labour candidate to stand for election - meaning the labour movement supported by trade unions, not the Labour Party which was founded decades later. The election was won by the Conservative candidate, Marcus Beresford, with Odger finishing second. The results noted on the photograph caption are: Beresford (Tory) 4682, Odger (Labour) 4382, Waterlow (Liberal) 2867.
George Odger (1813-4 March 1877) was an English trade unionist, voting rights reform campaigner, and the first president of the First International (an international meeting of socialists, anarchists and trade unionists aiming to unite the working classes).
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