James Carmichael (British politician)
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James Carmichael (April 1894 – 19 January 1966) was a Scottish Labour politician, the son of George Carmichael, one of the founding members of the Independent Labour Party.
Carmichael was educated at the Scottish Labour College and worked as a constructional engineer, insurance agent and secretary. For fourteen years, he acted as organising secretary for the Scottish Independent Labour Party (ILP). He served on Glasgow Town Council 1939-46.
He was elected for Glasgow Bridgeton at a by-election in 1946, following the death of James Maxton, leader of the ILP. He was the ILP candidate, and he narrowly beat the Labour Party candidate to win the by-election. However this by-election was the ILP's "swan song"; he and the two other ILP MPs defected to the Labour Party at various times in 1947 and it ceased to be a serious electoral force after this.
Carmichael retired as an MP in 1961. The by-election to replace him was won by Labour, but it was one of the first elections where the Scottish National Party (SNP) won a significant vote, heralding further advances in the 1960s.
His son was Neil Carmichael, who was also a Glasgow Labour MP for several years, and was later ennobled as Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by James Carmichael
- The ILP denounces his defection
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Glasgow Bridgeton 1946–1961 |
Succeeded by James Bennett |
- 1894 births
- 1966 deaths
- Councillors in Scotland
- Independent Labour Party MPs
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies
- Labour Party (UK) MPs
- UK MPs 1945–50
- UK MPs 1950–51
- UK MPs 1951–55
- UK MPs 1955–59
- UK MPs 1959–64
