15 Facts About William Wiggins

William Martin Wiggins was a British Liberal politician and cotton manufacturer.

William Wiggins was married for a second time in 1917 to Elizabeth Hayhurst of Hellifield in North Yorkshire.

In 1906 Wiggins was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the Municipal Borough of Middleton, in Lancashire.

In business William Wiggins was a successful cotton manufacturer, a director of several spinning companies and was at one time president of the Federation of Master Cotton Spinners Associations and president of International Federation of Cotton Spinners and Manufacturers.

William Wiggins was sometime president of the British Employers' Confederation.

Together with his friend Frederick Bagot who was to become editor of the local paper in Middleton, William Wiggins initiated a campaign that ended with Brasenose College, Oxford handing over many thousands of pounds, which helped towards the building of the new school in Durnford Street, when the administration became vested in the Lancashire County Council.

William Wiggins entered Parliament at a by-election in 1925 at Oldham.

Wiggins had fought beside Grigg at the 1923 general election but the second seat had been retained by William Tout the Labour candidate and MP since 1922 and private secretary to the Minister of Labour.

William Wiggins, described as a staunch free-trader and robust Radical was selected as Liberal candidate and Tout was invited to stand again by the Oldham Trades and Labour Council.

William Wiggins was expected to receive support from many Conservative supporters of free-trade who were opposed to silk and artificial silk duties.

William Wiggins may have felt the winds of political change coming in Oldham and decided to jump before he was pushed as the Labour party gained both Oldham seats in the 1929 general election.

William Wiggins's report condemned British economic policy in contracting the money supply and the demonetization of silver and praised the actions of US President Franklin D Roosevelt in taking positive government action to intervene in financial and fiscal matters.

William Wiggins proposed restoring international trade through rising prices, guaranteed by government action.

Later in 1935, William Wiggins met the prime minister of Australia, Joseph Lyons with other local businessmen in Manchester to object formally to Australia's tariff regimes against Lancashire cotton goods.

In early 1936, William Wiggins spoke in favour of the Cotton Spinning Bill then before Parliament saying that people needed to recognise that the days of laissez-faire were over and defended elements of state regulation in the industry to keep production up and employment in the industry high.