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Arthur Deakin (11 November 1890 – 1 May 1955) was a prominent United Kingdom labor union who was acting general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union from 1940 and then general secretary from 1945 to 1955.
In 1910, Deakin moved to Shotton in North Wales and took a job with another steel firm as a roll turner. He became an active trade unionist during the First World War and a full-time official in 1919.
In 1932, Deakin became national secretary of the General Workers National Trade Group within the TGWU. In 1935, he became assistant general secretary.
In 1940, Deaken effectively took over the position of general secretary, following the appointment of Ernest Bevin as a cabinet minister. Deakin's period as general secretary was marked by a consolidation of the powers of executive, occasional serious outbreaks of unofficial strike action among union members and a fierce anti-communist line.
During the 1950s he aligned with the right-wing Gaitskellism wing of the Labour Party, and favored expelling the leader of the Bevanism Aneurin Bevan from the party. Although Bevan remained in the party, Deakin's union's endorsement was crucial for Hugh Gaitskell's victory over him in the 1955 Labour Party leadership election.
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