George Machin (30 December 1922 – 5 December 1989) was a British Labour Party politician, engineering inspector and shop steward. Machin was a native of

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and attended Marlcliffe School there. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. After the war ended, he became an engineering inspector and active in the trade union movement. In 1967, he was elected to Sheffield City Council. At a March 1973 by-election, he was elected 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 ...

for Dundee East, holding off by 1,141 votes a strong challenge from Gordon Wilson of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

. The contest had been seen as three-way fight between Machine, Wilson and

Lord Provost of Dundee The Lord Provost of Dundee is the chair and civic head of the City of Dundee local authority in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead and Lord Lieutenant for the city. T ...

, William Fitzgerald, standing as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. On the day of the election it was speculated in ''The

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' that the Labour vote may be hurt by the fact that Machin was an English candidate in a Scottish seat and because some local Labour supporters were angered as the felt Machin's

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

had used influence to "buy" his nomination. Signs that his English background was an issue were demonstrated during Machin's victory speech which was reportedly disrupted by 'angry shouts of Scottish Nationalist supporters', while police flanked him as he faced 'chants of "Go back to Yorkshire" and "Go home, Englishman"'. At the February 1974 general election, Wilson gained the seat by 2,966 votes, thus ending Machin's tenure as an MP of just 11 months. Machin attempted unsuccessfully to regain his seat at the subsequent October 1974 general election but then retired from politics afterwards.

References

Times Guide to the House of Commons ''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'' is a political reference guide book published by Times Newspapers giving coverage of general elections in the United Kingdom. Following most general elections since 1880, the book has been published. The ...

February 1974 *

External links

* 1922 births 1989 deaths Amalgamated Engineering Union-sponsored MPs Scottish Labour MPs UK MPs 1970–1974 Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Trade unionists from Sheffield People associated with Dundee Place of death missing Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dundee constituencies {{Scotland-Labour-UK-MP-stub

See also

References

External links