Alfred Balfour was a British railwayman and politician.
15 Facts About Alfred Balfour
1.
2.
Alfred Balfour worked his way up from being a baker's message boy to serve as a member of parliament for fourteen years.
3.
Alfred Balfour was marked by his loyalty to party and near silence in the House of Commons where he waited eight years after being elected before making his maiden and only speech.
4.
Alfred Balfour went only to elementary school, before beginning work as a baker's message boy.
5.
Alfred Balfour later worked in a sawmill, in a tannery, and as a carter before joining the railways at the age of 19.
6.
Alfred Balfour continued his education in evening classes including through the Workers' Educational Association and the National Council of Labour Colleges, and he became an active member of the National Union of Railwaymen.
7.
Alfred Balfour was Secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the NUR for twenty years, and represented railwaymen on Aberdeen Trades Council.
8.
For many years, Alfred Balfour was a member of the NUR Executive.
9.
Alfred Balfour's job was eventually to be parcels foreman at Aberdeen railway station, and he was chairman of the employees' side of the sectional council of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway for twelve years.
10.
Alfred Balfour followed Thomas Johnston, who was Secretary of State for Scotland in the war-time Coalition.
11.
Alfred Balfour won the seat, but his election was unusual as he had a reduced majority compared to the 1935 general election; the election as a whole showed a strong movement to the Labour Party.
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Alfred Balfour made no speeches at all, and asked only a handful of questions in the first two years before contributing nothing in the last three sessions.
13.
Alfred Balfour's silence was accompanied by invariable loyalty to the party whip.
14.
On 14 July 1953, Alfred Balfour finally broke eight years' silence in the chamber to make his maiden speech in a debate on industry in Scotland.
15.
Re-elected with a reduced majority in the 1955 general election, Alfred Balfour did not make any further speeches or ask any questions before announcing in 1958 that he would not be a candidate for re-election.