Muriel Rose Forbes (20 April 1894 – 18 April 1991) was a British Labour Party politician and magistrate.

Early life

Forbes was born on 20 April 1894 to John Cheeseright. She married Charles Gilbert Forbes in 1923, with whom she had two daughters. She was educated at

Gateshead Grammar School Gateshead Grammar School was a school in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, that operated from 1883 to 1967. History The private school Gateshead High School For Boys opened in 1883 at the junction of Durham Road and Prince Consort Road. It w ...

and Southlands Teacher Training College. She worked as a mathematics teacher, and would later take an interest in education policy.

Political career

Forbes joined Willesden Borough Council in 1936, staying in this role until 1947. Alongside this, she was a member of

Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the coun ...

from 1934 to 1965. In 1946 she was made a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. She was chair of the Middlesex education committee from 1946 to 1949 and 1958 to 1959. She was elected as its chair, serving from 1960 to 1961. She was the first woman to be elected as chair of Middlesex County Council. In 1956, she proposed a motion at a Labour Party women's conference condemning the Soviet Union's response to the

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, which passed. She was elected to the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

in 1964, serving as vice-chair for the first two years of her term, while

Harold Shearman Sir Harold Charles Shearman (14 March 1896 – 24 March 1984) was a British socialist politician and educationalist, who served as chair of both the London County Council and Greater London Council. Shearman attended Sulgrave National Scho ...

served as chair. She lost her Brent seat in 1967. She served on the governing committees of

St Charles' Hospital St Charles' Hospital is a health facility in North Kensington, London. It is managed by the Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust. History The foundation stone for the hospital was laid in 1879 and it was officially opened by the Prince ...

Paddington General Hospital Paddington General Hospital was a health facility in Harrow Road, Paddington, London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mil ...

and

Central Middlesex Hospital Central Middlesex Hospital is in the centre of the Park Royal business estate, on the border of two London boroughs, Brent and Ealing. It is managed by the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust. History The hospital was establish ...

. She was made an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

Brent London Borough Council Brent London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Brent in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. It is based at Brent Civic Centre in Engineers Way ...

in 1972, holding the role until 1974. She supported

Reg Freeson Reginald Yarnitz Freeson (24 February 1926 – 9 October 2006) was a British Labour politician. He was a Member of Parliament for 23 years, from 1964 to 1987, for Willesden East and later Brent East, with 14 years on the front bench. He beca ...

in the

1983 United Kingdom general election The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of the Labour Party in 1945, with a majority of 1 ...

Honours

Forbes was made a

Commander of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1963 for services to the community. She was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Technology The Doctor of Technology (abbreviated variously in different countries) is a degree normally conferred upon candidates after having completed a course of study in technology and a dissertation or a project of lengthy duration in a technologically r ...

degree from

Brunel University London Brunel University London is a Public university, public Research universities, research university located in the Uxbridge area of London, England. It was founded in 1966 and named after the Victorian era, Victorian engineer and pioneer of the I ...

in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Muriel 1894 births 1991 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of Middlesex County Council Members of the Greater London Council Councillors in the London Borough of Brent Labour Party (UK) councillors English justices of the peace Women councillors in England