THIS month marks the 100th anniversary of a landmark ruling named after a Walthamstow town councillor which protected union members from a compulsory political levy.

Walter Victor Osborne, a railway worker in the early 20th Century, was an active member of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants’ (ASRS) union.

But he spent six years bringing a legal challenge against the union, objecting to the compulsory payment by members which was used to pay the salaries of Labour Members of Parliament.

December 21 marks the anniversary of the day the Court of Appeal found in his favour in 1909, after initially losing out in the High Court.

In a ruling which became known as the Osbourne Judgement, It was decided that unions had no power to collect or spend members’ money for political purposes.

Walter Osborne was born in Norfolk in 1870, the son of a shepherd, and joined Great Eastern railways in about 1890 - becoming head porter at Clapton railway station by the turn of the century.

He lived with his wife Naomi, daughter Ivy and his wife's mother in Fulbourne Terrace, Walthamstow, according to the 1901 census.

Dr Jim Moher, who recently gave a talk on the Osborne Judgement at the Trade Union Forum of the History & Policy Institute, said Mr Osborne was “no ordinary railway worker”.

He was said to have journalistic skills and in 1913 wrote two books about his six-year legal battle, called Sane Trade Unionism and My Case.

Dr Mohar said: “Osborne is an interesting character, and worthy of more attention than historians have been minded to give him.

“His motives for taking the union to court over the political levy were suspected at the time, it was widely believed that he was secretly backed by the railway bosses and other capitalist financiers.

“This may have been an oversimplification and he did offer to open his subscription books to the Trades Union Congress.”

Dr Moher said things came to a head after 1901, when the judiciary handed down yet another punitive judgement against the railway union over a dispute in South Wales, costing the ASRS nearly £50,000.

He added: “All the unions then rallied to the Labour Party, helping it to fund fifty parliamentary candidates in the general election of 1906 and win 29 Labour seats.

“Although the ASRS had balloted all its members and won a convincing majority for the political levy, Osborne insisted on going to law in 1907.

“He had some point in that the union made no provision for conscientious objectors to opt out and sought a pledge from all candidates to vote with Labour in Parliament on every issue.”

However, after his six year legal battle was won, Labour secured 42 seats at the 1910 elections and the TUC and Labour Party persuaded the Liberal Government to bring in a law to reverse the Osborne Judgement in 1913.

It was passed but with two conditions, that all union political funds have to be authorised by a majority ballot of the members and every individual has the right not to pay if he or she wishes.

Dr Moher said: “These conditions could perhaps be seen as a semi-victory for Walter Osborne and that, substantially, is where the law is to this day.

“However, the debate over party funding continued throughout the 20th Century and is once again in the limelight since the cash for honours scandal - and as the general election approaches.”

This item is based on a talk which Dr Moher gave at the Trade Union Forum of the History & Policy Institute on November 28t, which is the subject of a forthcoming History & Policy paper on the Osborne Judgement at www.historyandpolicy.org.

Dr James Moher would be delighted to hear from people still living in the Walthamstow area who knew of Walter Osborne, or his family. He can be contacted by email at jim_moher@hotmail.com.