Joseph Paton Maclay, 2nd Baron Maclay KBE (31 May 1899 – 7 November 1969), was a Scottish banker, shipowner, peer and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician.

Family and education

Maclay was the eldest surviving son of

Joseph Paton Maclay, 1st Baron Maclay Joseph Paton Maclay, 1st Baron Maclay PC (6 September 1857 – 24 April 1951), known as Sir Joseph Maclay, 1st Baronet, from 1914 to 1922, was a Scottish businessman and public servant. Biography Maclay was the son of Ebenezer Maclay of Gl ...

, and his wife Martha (née Strang), two elder brothers having died during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

John Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel John Scott Maclay, 1st Viscount Muirshiel, (26 October 1905 – 17 August 1992) was a British politician, sitting as a National Liberal and Conservative Member of Parliament before the party was fully assimilated into the Unionist Party in Sco ...

, was his younger brother. The family lived at Duchal House. Lord Maclay married Nancy Margaret, daughter of Robert Coventry Greig, in 1936. Their wedding was held in

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, based on a for ...

. He was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, Edinburgh and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He died in hospital November 1969, aged 70, and a memorial service was held for him in

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Ghlaschu) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It is the oldest cathedral in mainland Scotland and the oldest building in Glasgow. The cathedral was the seat of the Archbishop ...

. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Joseph.

Business

Maclay went into the shipping business and became chairman of the company his father had established, Maclay and McIntyre of Glasgow. He was president of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom, 1946–47, Chairman of the General Council of British Shipping, 1946–47 and Lord Dean of Guild, Glasgow, 1952–54. In February 1947, he chaired the International Shipping Conference in London. He was a Director of the

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

and Chairman of Clydesdale and North Scotland Bank.

Parliament and other public office

He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

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 in 1931, a seat he held until the 1945 general election. In 1951, he succeeded his father in the barony and entered the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Maclay was elected as a Liberal in support of the National Government and prime minister

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 ...

. When the Liberal Party led by

Sir Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel, (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to beco ...

withdrew from the coalition in November 1933, Maclay refused to cross the floor into opposition with Samuel. However he never seems to have taken the

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

of the Liberal National Party, the group in Parliament led by

Sir John Simon John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount Simon, (28 February 1873 – 11 January 1954), was a British politician who held senior Cabinet posts from the beginning of the First World War to the end of the Second World War. He is one of only three peop ...

. At the 1935 general election he was re-elected in Paisley as a Liberal, although as in 1931 he had no

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 ...

opponent. This was because he did generally tend to support the government. In the crucial vote after the Norway debate on 8 May 1940 which led to the downfall of Neville Chamberlain he was one of only two Liberals to support the government (the other was

Gwilym Lloyd George Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby, (4 December 1894 – 14 February 1967) was a Welsh politician and cabinet minister. The younger son of David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957. Background, education and milit ...

). Despite this, his personal relations with Herbert Samuel must have remained cordial as he was invited by Samuel to accompany him to a conference of the Institute of Pacific Relations held in Banff in Canada during the summer recess of 1933 to act as an honorary private secretary and before the conference they enjoyed some walking together in the forested countryside around

Lake Louise (Alberta) Lake Louise (named Ho-run-num-nay (Lake of the Little Fishes) by the Stoney Nakota First Nations people) is a glacial lake within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located west of the Hamlet of Lake Louise and the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. During the Second World War, Maclay followed similar footsteps to those his father had trod in the Great War, when he was appointed Head of the Convoy and Admiralty Liaison, in the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

between 1943 and 1945.''Who was Who'', OUP 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclay, Joseph Maclay, Joseph Maclay, 2nd Baron Maclay, Joseph Maclay, 2nd Baron Maclay, Joseph Maclay, 2nd Baron Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Paisley constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who inherited peerages Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Fettes College