Edward Cowey (9 April 1839 – 16 December 1903), often known as Ned Cowey, was a British trade unionist. Cowey was born in Longbenton, Northumberland, and began working in local coal mines at the age of seven, opening and closing a trapdoor for fourteen hours a day. In 1858, he and his workmates were able to work together to break the written agreement of working practices, for which he was blacklisted. He briefly worked at sea, but returned to Monkwearmouth, where again he made efforts to improve working conditions. In his spare time, Cowey was a Primitive Methodist lay preacher.