William Whiteley (3 October 1882 – 3 November 1955) was the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Blaydon in County Durham. He held a number of political officers from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Early life William Whiteley, not to be confused with the founder of the Department Store of the same name, was a Durham miner by background and a lodge official. He was an active trade unionist and member of the Independent Labour Party, later the Labour Party.
Political career He stood unsuccessfully in Blaydon for Labour in the 1918 general election, but was successful in the election four years later. He went on to be the MP for Blaydon from 1922 to 1931.
His defeat in the 1931 general election followed the events of that summer when Ramsay MacDonald quit the Labour Party to form a National Government and the election called in October that year reduced the Labour representation to a rump of 52 MPs. However Whiteley was re-elected at the 1935 general election and went on to represent the constituency for the next twenty years until his death. In the consequent by-election, the seat was held for Labour by Robert Woof.
During the Churchill war ministry and government of Clement Attlee between 1942 to 1951, he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury.
Whiteley became a Privy Councillor after 1943 and was Labour Chief Whip in the House of Commons for thirteen years from 1942 to 1955.
He was President of the Durham Miners' Homes for the Aged from 1927 to 1955.
He died in 1955 in Durham Hospital at the age of 73.
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