John McKean McLachlan (27 August 1873 – 29 December 1930)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a British socialist politician. McLachlan was elected to Levenshulme District Council in the early-1900s. He first became prominent as a left-wing member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP); at its 1906 conference, he was the lead opponent of a motion against military service, holding that such training would assist with building a citizen's army. During 1908, McLachlan supported Victor Grayson's independent "Right to Work" candidates for

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

, and also campaigned for

Dan Irving David Daniel "Dan" Irving (31 October 1854 – 25 January 1924) was a British socialist activist and Labour Party Member of Parliament. Born in Birmingham, Irving moved to Bristol in 1875, where he began working on the railways. After he lost ...

of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF) at the

1908 Manchester North West by-election The Manchester North West by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 24 April 1908. The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system ...

. Duncan Tanner, ''Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918'' p.146 McLachlan himself stood in

Ardwick Ardwick is a district of Manchester in North West England, one mile south east of the city centre. The population of the Ardwick Ward at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from ...

for the city council in

in 1909, and was elected. Despite this, it was a surprise when he was adopted as the official Labour Party candidate for Manchester South West at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

. He took only 16.6% of the vote, and was not elected. McLachlan was elected to the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the ILP in 1909, along with other left-wingers, including

Leonard Hall Leonard Hall may refer to: People * Leonard Hall (boxer) (born 1907), Rhodesian and later South African boxer *Leonard Hall (socialist) (born 1866), British trade unionist and socialist activist * Leonard J. Hall (born 1943), American politician in ...

and

Russell Smart Hyman Russell Smart (1858 – 12 November 1923) was a British socialist activist. Born in London, Smart attended Dulwich College before becoming an actor. However, he soon changed careers and instead became a sanitation engineer.Martin Crick, ...

. Concerned about the direction of the Labour Party under

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

and the ILP's role in this, McLachlan compiled a document entitled ''Let us reform the Labour Party'', but generally known as the ''Green Manifesto'', with contributions from co-thinkers including Hall,

C. T. Douthwaite Christopher Thomas Douthwaite (17 November 1875 – 11 February 1949) was a British socialist politician. Born in Manchester, Douthwaite left school at the age of eleven, working first for a tea merchant, then for the Bradford Dyers Association. ...

and J. H. Belcher.David Howell, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XII, pp.72-76 In 1911, the SDF formed the new

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

, hoping that dissidents on the left of the ILP would join. Although Douthwaite left to join the new party, McLachlan opted to remain in the ILP and work with G. H. Stuart on the NAC. They formed part of a broader left including George Lansbury and Keir Hardie, but the resignations of Lansbury and Hardie from the council in 1912 left them isolated. By 1919, McLachlan was suffering with poor health, and resigned his seat on the council;

R. C. Wallhead Richard Collingham Wallhead (28 December 1869 – 27 April 1934), known as R. C. Wallhead, was a British Member of Parliament. Beginning his career as a decorator, Wallhead joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and later became a journalist ...

won the election to succeed him. His health did not improve, and he underwent a major operation in 1924, and it was noted in the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that he received a blood transfusion during it."City constable and ex-city councillor: a transfusion of blood", ''

'', 1 May 1924

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, John McKean 1873 births 1930 deaths Councillors in Manchester Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Levenshulme Politicians from Manchester