John Clifford (minister)

John Clifford CH (16 October 1836 in Sawley, Derbyshire – 20 November 1923 in London) was a British Baptist Nonconformist minister and politician, who became famous as the advocate of passive resistance to the Education Act 1902.

In 1858, he was called to the Praed Street chapel, Paddington (London), and while officiating there he attended University College and pursued his education by working at the British Museum.

He threw himself into this movement with militant ardour, his own goods being distrained upon, with those of numerous other Nonconformists, rather than that any contribution should be made by them in taxation for the purpose of an Education Act, which they believed to be calculated to support denominational religious teaching in the schools.

[1] The passive resistance movement, with Clifford as its chief leader, had a large share in the defeat of the Unionist government in January 1906, and his efforts were then directed to getting a new act passed which should be nondenominational in character.

[1] Failure was now due not to the House of Lords but the inherent difficulties of the subject, as it became increasingly clear to the public generally that the easy denunciations of the act of 1902, which had played so large a part in the elections of 1906, were not so simple to carry into practice.