Glasgow has marked 100 years since the death of one of the founders of the Labour movement James Keir Hardie with the unveiling of a bust and a commemorative plaque.

Politicians joined representatives from the Keir Hardie Society and trade unionists at a ceremony in Maryhill Crematorium, where his funeral was held in 1915.

A plaque was unveiled which hails Hardie as a “campaigner for women’s suffrage, workers’ emancipation, equality and peace”.

A bust of Hardie was later put on public display for the first time since the 1980s at the People's Palace.

Born into poverty in 1856 in North Lanarkshire, Hardie worked as a coal miner before becoming a trade union official.

His political career began with a failed bid to become Labour MP in the Mid-Lanark by-election with a manifesto which concluded: “I ask you therefore to return to parliament a man of yourselves, who, being poor can feel for the poor.”

Undeterred by the defeat he went to unseat a Tory MP in West Ham South in 1892 and later played a key role in the formation of the Independent Labour Party.

He lost his seat at the next General Election but in 1900, he was elected MP for Merthyr Tydfil and by 1906 Labour had 29 MPs with Hardie its first parliamentary leader.

He died in Glasgow on September 26 1915, following a stroke.

By 1924, Labour had 191 MPs and formed the first Labour minority government.

Last year, Glasgow City Council approved a motion by Councillor Martin Rhodes to celebrate Hardie’s achievements.

Speaking at the unveiling of a plaque at Maryhill Crematorium yesterday, Mr Rhodes said: “Throughout his life, Keir Hardie championed many causes including the struggle for working class representation in parliament, his support for women's suffrage and the rights of trade unions and workers, and his commitment to internationalism and peace.

“Through this act of remembrance and celebration, we mark once more our appreciation for all that he did for our city.”

The bronze sculpture - J Keir Hardie - was made by sculptor Benno Schotz in 1939 and presented to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum by the Keir Hardie Memorial Trust.

Schotz came to Glasgow from Estonia in 1912 to study engineering and he went on to work in the drawing office at John Brown Shipbuilders.

He took evening classes at Glasgow School of Art and later became well respected as a sculptor.

He remained in Glasgow for the rest of his life, becoming a British Citizen in 1930.

In 1938 he was appointed as Head of Sculpture and Ceramics at Glasgow School or Art where he worked until he retired in 1960.

He was made a Freeman of the City of Glasgow in 1981.

The bust he created will be on display at the People's Palace until the end of November.

There are other casts of this sculpture at Old Cumnock in Ayrshire where Hardie lived for many years and also in the House of Commons.