John Francis McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith, (born 4 October 1944) is a Scottish politician, now the

Lord Speaker The Lord Speaker is the presiding officer, chairman and highest authority of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members ...

having previously been

Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords The Senior Deputy Speaker is an officer of the House of Lords whose main role is to preside over the House when it is in committee (i.e., considering a bill at committee stage), either in the Lords Chamber or in Grand Committee, which is when com ...

from 1 September 2016 to 30 April 2021. He was previously a Labour and Co-operative

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 ...

from

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, first for Dumbarton and then from 2005 for

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter town ...

. He also served as Chairman of the

House of Commons Treasury Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administ ...

. In 2021, McFall was elected as

to replace Lord Fowler.

Early life

McFall went to a boys' school, St Patrick's Secondary School (since merged with Notre Dame High School to form Our Lady & St Patrick's High School), on Hawthornhill Road in

Castlehill, Dumbarton Castlehill is an area of Dumbarton in the West Dunbartonshire area of Scotland. Located in the Western part of the town next to the Brucehill area, Castlehill was built as a council run housing scheme. Many of the houses have subsequently bee ...

, leaving without any qualifications at 15. His father was a school caretaker and his mother had a newsagents shop, which sparked his (later) interest in how to run businesses. He worked for the local Parks Department in Dumbarton and then in a factory. At the age of 24, he studied at Paisley College of Technology (now the University of the West of Scotland) receiving a BSc in Chemistry. In 1977, he wanted to widen his knowledge away from science and obtained a BA from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

in Education and Philosophy. He was a chemistry and maths teacher from 1974–1987 in Dumbarton,

Kirkintilloch Kirkintilloch (; sco, Kirkintulloch; gd, Cair Cheann Tulaich) is a town and former barony burgh in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the Forth and Clyde Canal and on the south side of Strathkelvin, about northeast of central Glasgow. ...

and

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 ...

, becoming a deputy-head in Glasgow and Secretary of his Constituency Labour Party before he entered Parliament. Whilst a teacher he completed a part-time course over three years at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

for an MBA. In 1994, he became a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University Business School, and now is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board at the University of Glasgow Business School. He is a member of the GMB Union.

Political career

He was first elected for the Dumbarton constituency,

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 the ...

, at the 1987 general election, after the previous MP, Ian Campbell retired. His original majority was a little over 2,000. Dumbarton constituency was replaced with the new West Dunbartonshire constituency for the 2005 general election, which McFall won with a majority over 12,500. In 1995 he introduced a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill which, although unsuccessful, informed the

Hunting Act 2004 The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...

outlawing the hunting of mammals by dogs in England and Wales. He was a

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 ...

and junior minister (for Education, Training and Employment, Health and Community Relations, then in 1999 for Economy and Education) at the Northern Ireland Office from 1998–99. In 2001 he was appointed Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, and reappointed for a second term in this position in 2005. The committee conducted inquiries into the banking crisis, producing evidence of the bonus culture, the lack of banking qualifications among many top bankers and poor oversight of the industry by the

Financial Services Authority The Financial Services Authority (FSA) was a quasi-judicial body accountable for the financial regulation, regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investmen ...

. On 29 January 2010, McFall announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the 2010 general election. On 17 June 2010, he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

as Baron McFall of Alcluith, of Dumbarton in the County of Dunbartonshire, and was introduced in 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 ...

on 6 July 2010. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development (Apgood). In July 2016, he was appointed as Chairman of Committees of the

with effect from 1 September 2016. He was known as Senior Deputy Speaker while holding the office. In April 2021, he was elected as

succeeding Lord Fowler.

Other activities

He is Chair of the Scotch Whisky and Spirits All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and of the Royal Navy APPG. He was Chairman of Strathleven Regeneration Company and of Clydebank re-built, two development companies based in his constituency. He gave his backing to Dumpster Kids, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at rescuing abandoned children, in January 2011.

Personal life

He is married to Joan, a former teacher from Dumbarton, with four children.

Publications

*Workplace Retirement Income Commission, ''Building a Strong, Stable and Transparent Pension System: Final Report''
August 2011

References

External links

Official Website

* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/john_mcfall/dunbartonshire_west TheyWorkForYou.com – John McFall MP*
BBC Politics Profile

Treasury Select Committee
News items * 4 May 2008 �
Treasury hard man is really a softy at heart
* 19 April 2008 �
John McFall urges clarity on tax rates
* 15 April 2008 �
John McFall speaks about abolition of 10p tax rate
* 7 April 2008 �
Government must gauge effect of winter heating payments on fuel poverty
* 26 March 2008 �
John McFall speaks about Northern Rock regulator's failure on BBC Breakfast
* 10 March 2008 �
Added value
* 5 March 2008 �
Helping people back into work
* 3 March 2008 �
McFall cut up credit card over insurance letters
* 3 March 2008 �
Banks "refused to believe the good times were about to end"

Criticising banks in 2006 for being unsympathetic

Advising that bank ATMs should explicitly mention charges in 2005

Little praise for the savings industry in 2004

Talking about endowment mortgage shortfalls in 2004

High credit card charges in 2003

Confusing bank charges in 2002

New Economy minister in Northern Ireland in 1999

Wanting lifelong learning in Northern Ireland in 1998
Video clips * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcfall, John 1944 births Living people Scottish people of Irish descent Alumni of the Open University Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Alumni of the University of the West of Scotland Labour Co-operative MPs for Scottish constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Dumbarton Scottish Roman Catholics Scottish schoolteachers UK MPs 1987–1992 UK MPs 1992–1997 UK MPs 1997–2001 UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Labour Co-operative life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Lords Speaker