Thomas Johnston

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Thomas "Tom" Johnston (born November 2, 1881 in Kirkintilloch , East Dunbartonshire , Scotland ; † September 5, 1965 in Milngavie , Glasgow ) was a British journalist , politician of the Independent Labor Party (ILP) and later the Labor Party and economic manager , who had been a member of the House of Commons for 19 years with interruptions as well as briefly Lord Seal Keeper in 1931 and during the Second World War from 1941 to 1945 in the War Cabinet of Prime Minister Winston Churchill held the office of Minister for Scotland . As Scotland Minister in 1943 he initiated the founding of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (NoSHEB) to advance the design, construction and operation of hydropower plants in the Highlands . From 1945 to 1959 he was chairman of the board of the NoSHEB.

Life

Journalist and degree

Johnston completed his education at the Lairdsland Public School and the Lenzie Academy , a comprehensive school in Lenzie . Shortly after finishing school, he began his political career in the Independent Labor Party (ILP), for which he was elected a member of the local council in 1903. With the support of a relative, he founded Forward , the left-wing weekly newspaper of the ILP, in 1906 and was also its editor-in-chief until 1933.

In addition to his journalistic activities, he began to study moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow in 1907 and took up a degree in economics there in 1908 , which he did not graduate. As a student, he was also involved in the Student Settlement , a student organization that campaigned for social improvements.

His work as editor-in-chief of Forward was influenced by his Fabianistic , radical and abstinent attitudes and shaped the socialist journalism of the time and the opinion in western Scotland. In his weekly newspaper he spoke out firmly against the First World War , which he saw as exploiting the working class . He also advocated peace and attacked those who profited from the war.

In his views he was close to the socialist views of the so-called Red Clydesider , a group of radical socialist politicians in the Glasgow area such as William Gallacher , Mary Barbour , Emanuel Shinwell and James Maxton .

Unsuccessful candidacies and MPs

Johnston ran for a seat in the House of Commons for the first time as a candidate for the Labor Party in the December 14, 1918 elections in the newly created constituency of Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Western , but was defeated by his opponent from the Scottish Unionist Party , Harry Hope , with 6,893 votes to 3,809 clear. In the subsequent elections of November 15, 1922 , he was able to prevail with 9,919 votes against 8,104 and was thus elected for the first time as a member of the lower house. He represented this constituency until his defeat by his opponent from the Unionist Party Guy Dalrymple Fanshawe in the general election on October 29, 1924 .

However, he was later already almost two months at a by the death of Edmund Dene Morel had become necessary at the 12 November 1924 election (by-election) in the constituency Dundee elected on December 22, 1924 again a member of the House of Commons and represented that constituency now until he was re-elected to the Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Western constituency in the May 30, 1929 elections. This time he was able to prevail there with 15,179 votes against the constituency owner of the Unionist Party, Guy Dalrymple Fanshawe, who this time received 11,589 votes.

Undersecretary of State, Keeper of the Lord Seal and re-election to the House of Commons

Johnston took over his first government office in the government of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald on June 8, 1929 and initially acted there as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland .

On March 24, 1931 Johnston was by Prime Minister Macdonald to succeed the deceased on March 13, 1931 Official Vernon Hartshorn for Lord Privy Seal (Lord Privy Seal) appointed to the Cabinet. However, he only held this office until the formation of the so-called National Government made up of the Labor Party, Conservative Party and Liberal Party on August 24, 1931 at the height of the Great Depression . His successor was then William Peel, 1st Earl Peel of the Conservative Party.

A few weeks later, in the October 27, 1931 elections , he lost his House of Commons mandate in the Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Western constituency to his Unionist Party challenger, James Campbell Ker , with 14,771 votes for Ker compared with 12,952 for him. In the next elections on November 14, 1935 , Ker refused to run again, while Johnston ran again and with 16,015 votes could clearly prevail against the new candidate of the Unionist Party, Arthur Paterson Duffes, who got only 13,053 votes. He represented the constituency of Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Western for almost ten more years until the general election on July 5, 1945 , in which he did not stand again. Shortly before the start of the Second World War, he was also regional commissioner for civil defense in Scotland in 1939.

Scotland Minister and Chairman of the Board of NoSHEB

On February 8, 1941, Johnston was appointed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to his war cabinet, where he succeeded Ernest Brown until he was succeeded by Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery on May 23, 1945, as Minister for Scotland (Secretary of State for Scotland) .

In this role he worked across party lines for an improvement in the Scottish economy, for example through the creation of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry . 1943 Initiator of the founding of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (NoSHEB) to advance the design, construction and operation of hydropower plants in the Highlands. This succeeded in creating jobs, improving social conditions and strengthening new industries in the previously less developed regions of Scotland.

Most recently, Johnston, who was awarded an honorary doctorate in law by the University of Glasgow in 1945 , served as Chairman of the Board of NoSHEB from 1945 to 1959. During this time most of the power plants were completed and the electrical supply network lasted 90 percent of Scotland. He also volunteered as chairman of the Forestry Commission , the Scottish Tourist Board, and a member of the BBC Board of Governors . In 1943 he was elected a member ( Fellow ) of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

Web links and sources

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 24, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Johnston, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnston, Tom (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Labor Party politician and member of the House of Commons
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Kirkintilloch , East Dunbartonshire , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1965
Place of death Milngavie , Glasgow