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

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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having ''"behaved towards Scotland with all the sensitivity of a sex-starved boa constrictor"'', a remark immediately withdrawn, as is the custom in the Commons.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

, 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 {{Scotland-Labour-UK-MP-stub