Allender Steele Adams (16 February 1946 – 5 September 1990), known as Allen Adams, was a Scottish
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
politician who served as the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for
Paisley from 1979 to 1983 and
Paisley North from 1983 to 1990.
Adams was born in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, and married
Irene Adams
Katherine Patricia Irene Adams, Baroness Adams of Craigielea (born 27 December 1947) is a Scottish Labour peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Paisley North from 1990 to 2005.
Early life
Adams was educated at Stanley Green High Sc ...
on 24 February 1968.
He was elected as a Member of
Strathclyde Regional Council for Paisley Craigielea in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
, a position he held until standing down due to his election as the MP for Paisley.
He served as Labour's Scottish
whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
whilst an MP. In a notable speech on 31 March 1988, he described
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
in the
House of Commons as having ''"behaved towards Scotland with all the sensitivity of a sex-starved boa constrictor"'', a remark immediately withdrawn, as is the custom in the Commons.
Death
Adams died on 5 September 1990 at the age of 44 from a brain hemorrhage.
In the
by-election that followed his death, his widow
Irene Adams
Katherine Patricia Irene Adams, Baroness Adams of Craigielea (born 27 December 1947) is a Scottish Labour peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Paisley North from 1990 to 2005.
Early life
Adams was educated at Stanley Green High Sc ...
, succeeded him as MP for Paisley North.
References
External links
*
1946 births
1990 deaths
Scottish Labour MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Paisley constituencies
UK MPs 1979–1983
UK MPs 1983–1987
UK MPs 1987–1992
Scottish Labour councillors
Spouses of life peers
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