born Feb. 21, 1859, near Halesworth, Suffolk, Eng.
died May 7, 1940, London
British politician.
As a member of the House of Commons (1910–12, 1922–40), he became known as a socialist and poor-law reformer, and he led the British Labour Party from 1931 to 1935. Pacifist in his leanings, he was unwilling to call for economic sanctions against Italy for its aggression in Ethiopia (1935), fearing it might lead to war, and lost his party leadership post. In 1937 he visited Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in the vain hope that his personal influence could stop the movement toward war.