From humble beginnings, Hardie became the first ever leader of the Labour Party in parliament and went on to radically alter the landscape of British Politics. He was attached to issues and values still relevant today, crusading passionately against poverty, promoting social welfare and insisting on women’s liberation. Through his close and intimate friendship with Sylvia Pankhurst, one of the leading figures in the campaign to establish votes for women, he became deeply involved in promoting the cause of women's suffrage. At the time of Hardie’s death, a hundred ago, Pankhurst described him in the Woman's Dreadnought as 'the greatest human being of our time', a view that would be shared by generations of Socialists to come.…
By
Lucy Dahlsen, Associate Curator, 20th Century - Contemporary
24 September 2015
