Edward Lawrence Poulton (25 November 1865 – 19 November 1937) was a British trade unionist. Poulton was born in Northampton and worked making boots and shoes from an early age. He joined the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives (NUBSO) in 1887, and was appointed secretary of its Northampton branch four years later. He founded the Trade Union Club in the town in 1890, and was president of its trades council in 1892, using the opportunity to help found the Midland Federation of Trades Councils. He also became a Liberal-Labour politician, and was elected to Northampton's school board in 1895, then as an alderman on the council in 1898. In 1906, he became the first worker to serve as the Mayor of Northampton.