James Carmichael (7 April 1894 – 19 January 1966) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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. Carmichael 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 ...

, the son of George Carmichael, one of the founding members of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, and Jane McCann Carmichael. educated at the

Scottish Labour College The Scottish Labour College was founded in 1916, by John Maclean (Scottish socialist), John Maclean among others. It was modelled on the Central Labour College in London. It ran evening classes in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and elsewhere ...

and worked as a constructional engineer, insurance agent and secretary. For fourteen years, he acted as organising secretary for the Scottish

(ILP). He served on

Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second ti ...

1939–46. He was elected for Glasgow Bridgeton at a by-election in 1946, following the death of

James Maxton James Maxton (22 June 1885 – 23 July 1946) was a British left-wing politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party. He was a pacifist who opposed both world wars. A prominent proponent of Home Rule for Scotland, he is remembered as on ...

, 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 The swan song ( grc, κύκνειον ᾆσμα; la, carmen cygni) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans sing a beautiful so ...

"; 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 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 ...

(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 created a life peer as Lord Carmichael of Kelvingrove. His son-in-law was Labour MP Hugh Brown. Carmichael died at a hospital in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, aged 72.

References

External links

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The ILP denounces his defection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, James 1894 births 1966 deaths Bridgeton–Calton–Dalmarnock Councillors in Glasgow Independent Labour Party MPs Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Independent Labour Party councillors