James Keir Hardie founded the Independent Labour Party - On this day in history

James Keir Hardie, the country's first Labour MP, founded the Independent Labour Party on 13 January 1893. Keir Hardie was born into a poor family in Newhouse, Lanarkshire, in 1856 and left school at an early age in order to find a job and bring money into his family home. He won the West Ham constituency in 1892 and although he lost the seat three years later, was re-elected as MP for Merthyr Tydfil in 1900.

James Keir Hardie served as the Independent Labour Party's leader until 1910, when he was replaced by George Barnes, a fellow Scot.