Jennie Adamson
Janet Laurel Adamson | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament forBexley | |
In office 5 July 1945 – 21 July 1946 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Ashley Bramall |
Member of Parliament forDartford | |
In office 7 November 1938 – 15 June 1945 | |
Preceded by | Frank Edward Clarke |
Succeeded by | Norman Dodds |
Chair of theNational Executive Committee of the Labour Party | |
In office 1935–1936 | |
Preceded by | William Albert Robinson |
Succeeded by | Hugh Dalton |
Member of London County Council forLambeth North | |
In office 8 March 1928 – 5 March 1931 | |
Preceded by | Richard Charles Powell |
Succeeded by | Ida Samuel |
Personal details | |
Born | Janet Laurel Johnston 9 May 1882 Kilmarnock,Scotland |
Died | 25 April 1962 | (aged 79)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse | William Murdoch Adamson(died 1945) |
Janet Laurel Adamson(néeJohnston;[1]9 May 1882 – 25 April 1962) was a BritishLabour Partypolitician who served as aMember of Parliament(MP) from 1938 to 1946, and as a junior minister inClement Attlee's post-warLabour government.
Early life and family
[edit]Janet Laurel Johnston was born on 9 May 1882, the daughter of Thomas Johnston of Kirkcudbright. She married, in 1902, toWilliam Murdoch Adamson,aTransport and General Workers' Unionofficial who became Labour MP forCannock.[1][2]
Political career
[edit]From 1928 to 1931, Adamson was a member ofLondon County CouncilforLambeth North.She served on theNational Executive Committeeof the Labour Party from 1927 to 1947, which she chaired from 1935 to 1936.[1][2]
Adamson unsuccessfully contestedDartfordat the1935 general election,when the sittingConservativeMPFrank Clarkeheld the seat with a significantly reduced majority.[3] However, Clarke died in July 1938, and at the resultingby-election in November 1938,Adamson won the seat on aswingof 4.2%.[3]With her husband, they became the only husband and wife in theHouse of Commons.[4]
The constituency was divided in boundary changes for the1945 general election,when Adamson was elected with a large majority (27% of the votes) for the newBexley constituency.[5]She served as aParliamentary Private Secretaryfrom 1940 to 1945 andParliamentary Secretaryto theMinistry of Pensionsfrom 1945 to 1946,[1]under ministerWilfred Paling.
Adamsonresigned from Parliamentin 1946, becoming Deputy Chair of theUnemployment Assistance Boardfrom 1946 to 1953.[1]Her resignation precipitated aby-election in July 1946which was narrowly won by the Labour candidateAshley Bramall.[5]At thenext general election, in 1950,the seat was won by future Prime MinisterEdward Heath.
Adamson died on 25 April 1962.[6]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abcde"Jennie Adamson".Observatory.Centre for Advancement of Women in Politics,Queen's University Belfast.Archivedfrom the original on 13 October 2013.Retrieved17 May2014.[dead link]
- ^abStenton and LeesWho's Who of British Members of Parliamentvol. iv p. 1
- ^abCraig, F. W. S.(1983) [1969].British parliamentary election results 1918–1949(3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 383.ISBN0-900178-06-X.
- ^"LABOUR GAINS".Sydney Morning Herald.9 November 1938. p. 17.Archivedfrom the original on 13 August 2018.Retrieved2 December2017– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^abCraig,op cit,page 76
- ^Stenton and LeesWho's Who of British Members of Parliamentvol. iv p. 2
Bibliography
[edit]- Stenton, M., Lees, S. (1981).Who's Who of British Members of Parliament,volume iv (covering 1945-1979). Sussex: The Harvester Press; New Jersey: Humanities Press.ISBN0-391-01087-5
External links
[edit]External links
[edit]- 1882 births
- 1962 deaths
- Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1935–1945
- UK MPs 1945–1950
- Members of London County Council
- Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)
- 20th-century British women politicians
- Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951
- 20th-century English women politicians
- 20th-century English politicians
- Women councillors in England