John Guest

John Guest (1867 – 6 October 1931) was a British Labour Party politician. Guest was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for Hemsworth. He held the seat at the next four general elections, and died shortly before the 1931 general election. Biography Born in 1867 he lived all his life at The Elders, Main Street, South Hiendley below the Sun Inn. The Elders was passed down to his niece Miss Ada Guest who also passed away without issue. The Elders and the large orchard to its rear were demolished to make way for Orchard Drive housing by Hemsworth Council. John Guest started his working life as a miner at age 14, starting at Hodroyd Colliery before moving on to South Hiendley Colliery and being selected as a delegate to the Yorkshire Miners Association at the age of 18. He made his way up to Vice President of the Association in 1906 but was to give up the position in 1918 after being elected as Labour MP for Hemsworth. He was the first MP for Hemsworth and not only defended his seat but gained increased majorities for each of the 4 terms he served before his death in 1931. His majority on his first election was less than 2,000, on the final election shortly before his death his majority stood at 20,000. His continued struggle to fight for the welfare and safety of the working class, especially miners is a testimony to his lifetime's work and undoubtedly saved many lives. Its thanks to people like John Guest that we have a Minimum Wages Act, a universal state pension, education reforms for all and Unions.