Helen Brown Shaw, MBE (''née'' Graham; 2 June 1879 – 20 April 1964) was a Unionist Party politician in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Career

Shaw was active during World War I, chairing charities such as the Lanarkshire Prisoners of War Relief Committee. She was made an MBE in 1920. In 1930, she was the first woman to be elected to Lanarkshire County Council. In the Conservative landslide of 1931, Shaw was elected Member of Parliament for the normally Labour seat of

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An anc ...

. She held the seat until

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart bec ...

, when it was regained by Labour. As an MP, she worked for improved condition in the Lanarkshire mines, and to bring new industries to the area. In 1938, she became district administrator of the WVS for air raid precautions, West of Scotland.

Personal life

Shaw was the daughter of Annie Gillespie and David Graham, 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 pop ...

, Scotland, on 2 June 1879. She married Major David Shaw of the 6th Cameronians on 18 September 1879. He was killed in action in Festubert, France in World War I. They had a daughter and a son. Her daughter, Anne Gillespie Shaw CBE, was a time and motion expert, and production engineer. Her son, Gavin Shaw, was president of the Bothwell Unionist Association, and was killed in action in World War II.

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* 1879 births 1964 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs UK MPs 1931–1935 Members of the Order of the British Empire Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies 20th-century Scottish women politicians 20th-century Scottish politicians {{Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub