Made in Manchester: Ardwick-born Ellen Wilkinson (1891-1947), MP for Jarrow, played a big part in the 1936 Jarrow March of the unemployed to London to petition for the right to work, and became minister of education in the 1945 Labour government. 1/6 - ThreadSky

groomb.bsky.social • 19 hours ago

Made in Manchester: Ardwick-born Ellen Wilkinson (1891-1947), MP for Jarrow, played a big part in the 1936 Jarrow March of the unemployed to London to petition for the right to work, and became minister of education in the 1945 Labour government. 1/6

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rouler.bsky.social•15 hours ago

A Womannof of principle.

She wouldn't be welcome in today's Labour party.

groomb.bsky.social•19 hours ago

She was born to a working-class but ambitious Methodist family and won a history scholarship to Manchester University. Nicknamed 'Red Ellen' or the 'Fiery Particle', she started out on the hard left and was a founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. 2/6

groomb.bsky.social•19 hours ago

As minister of education, she raised the school-leaving age from 14 to 15 and oversaw the creation of grammar schools and secondary moderns under the wartime coalition’s Education Act 1944. 3/6

groomb.bsky.social•19 hours ago

Wilkinson has been criticised for resisting comprehensive schools (initially known as ‘multilateral’ schools; the first was created at Windermere in 1945). She believed such a major change was unachievable at that time and focused on what she saw as attainable reforms. 4/6

groomb.bsky.social•19 hours ago

Others included free school milk, improvements in the school meals system, more university scholarships and an expansion of part-time adult education through county colleges. 5/6

groomb.bsky.social•19 hours ago

During the bitter winter of 1947, Wilkinson succumbed to a bronchial disease and died after an overdose of medication, which the coroner at her inquest declared was accidental. 6/6

mancunianmanic.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Thanks to Brian for posting these, the disparity between the north and south of the UK is as great as ever, if not worse, despite the efforts of people long gone like Ellen Wilkinson

prhh.bsky.social•18 hours ago

Also MP for Middlesbrough.

chorlton.bsky.social•16 hours ago

Used to be a teacher at Oswald Road Primary Chorlton (well before the Bee Gees went there...)

tjquk.bsky.social•19 hours ago

I think we need more like her now

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