Edward Harford

[3] This new career proved a success, and Harford found work at a higher grade with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, based in Grimsby.

[3] As secretary, Harford pushed to increase membership, believing this would improve the union's bargaining position without the need for industrial action.

He was the treasurer of the Labour Electoral Association, and stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal-Labour candidate for Northampton at the 1895 UK general election.

[3] By 1897, Harford was facing growing opposition from within his union, with some members disliking his liberal politics and readiness to make concessions to employers.

[3][4] He spent the next few months as the TUC representative to the American Federation of Labour, but died on the return voyage, in January 1898, on board the SS Saint Paul.