... was elected to the House of Commons in 1892 as an Independent, representing West Ham South. He is known as the founder of the Labour Party, its first leader, and its first member of parliament. He was a socialist by inclination, but he was never elected as a Socialist (with a capital S).
According to Wikipedia, the first socialist MP was Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, who represented North Lanarkshire from 1886 to 1892. Like Keir Hardie, he wasn't actually elected as a Socialist; he was supported by the Liberal Party.
Keir Hardie made his first attempt to gain a seat in Parliament in 1888, at a by-election in the Mid Lanarkshire constituency. He stood as an Independent Labour candidate, having tried and failed to gain Liberal Party support. He came last in the poll, and the experience convinced many of his fellow miners of the need for an independent party representing the interests of labour. A meeting was held in Glasgow in August 1888, which resulted in the formation of the Scottish Labour Party - with Cunninghame Graham as its President and Keir Hardie as Secretary.
Cunninghame Graham later founded the National Party of Scotland – forerunner to the Scottish National Party.
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