Philip Snowden

Philip Snowden, (/ˈsnoʊdən/; 18 July 1864 – 15 May 1937) was a British politician. A strong speaker, he became popular in trade union circles for his denunciation of capitalism as unethical and his promise of a socialist utopia. He was the first Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position he held from 1924 until the dissolution of the Labour government in 1928.

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Early life
Snowden was born in Cowling, in Yorkshire's historic West Riding. His father, John Snowden, was a weaver and had supported the reformist Chartist movement, later supporting the Liberal politics of prime minister William Gladstone. Writing in his biography, Snowden wrote: "I was brought up in this Radical atmosphere, and it was then that I imbibed the political and social principles which I have held fundamentally ever since". While his parents and sisters practiced weavers at the Ickornshaw Mill, he did not join them. Following his attendance of a local board school, where he received lessons in Latin and French, he stayed on as a pupil-teacher. At age 15, Snowden became a clerk at an insurance office in Burnley. During his time as clerk, he studied and then passed, the civil service entry examination. In 1886, he was then appointed to a junior position at the Excise Office in Liverpool, England. After his service in the Excise Office, Snowden moved on to other posts around Scotland and then in Devon.

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