John Fielden

• John Fielden entered the Commons in 1832, representing the northern industrial town of Oldham along with William Cobbett. In the elections of 1835, 1837 and 1841, he returned to the Commons. With radical views, he sat with the Whigs in the House of Commons and he thought they would be more likely to support radical measures than the Tories.
• Although Fielden sat with the Whigs, he didn't always vote with them, as seen when he voted against the Poor Law Amendment bill. For years he attempted to get the act repealed and worked as a member on the Commons committee in the years 1837-38, investigating the working of the new Poor Law. When the committee reported favourably, Fielden was very critical, claiming they had only taken evidence from commissioners.
• Fielden was a mill owner in Todmorden, Lancashire, where the cotton mills he owned with his brother were the largest employer in the area.
• As an active member in the anti-Poor Law movement, Fielden was the only MP to attend the huge Yorkshire anti-Poor Law meeting in May 1837, where he addressed the crowd.
• When the Poor Law commissioner tried to implement the new Poor Law in Todmorden, Fielden threatened to close down his mills unless the guardians of the Poor Law union resigned. They refused so the mills closed, throwing nearly 3000 people out of work. The violence that ensued didn't end when Fielden opened the mills after a week (paying workers for the previous week) and his workers attacked the homes of local guardians, requiring troops to restore order.
• Although Fielden wasn't directly in the riots, he refused to co-operate with the authorities in identifying the ringleaders and refused to pay poor rates.
• The situation in Todmorden remained so bad that the new Poor Law was not implemented in Todmorden until 1877, long after Fielden's death.