Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Literature

The Catholic Workingman, 1909

by John Wheatley

Influenced by Francesco Nitti's book 'Catholic Socialism', John Wheatley was converted to socialism and formed the Catholic Socialist Society in Glasgow in 1906, with William Regan.

John Wheatley joined the ILP in 1908 and quickly became an influential figure in the Clydeside labour movement, leading the rent strikes of 1915 and opposing Britain's involvement in the first world war and the introduction of conscription.

By 1920 Wheatley was the leading political figure in the Glasgow Independent Labour Party, and in the 1922 general election he was one of the ten Labour candidates elected to represent the city in the House of Commons. Wheatley served as Minister of Health in the first Labour government in 1924. John Wheatley died in 1930.