Thomas Frederick Hubbard (October 1898 – 7 January 1961) was a British

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He represented Kirkcaldy Burghs in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for fifteen years, being a somewhat low-profile Member but often speaking in support of better conditions for

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

ers.

Origins

A native of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

, Hubbard attended only the local elementary school before going to work as a grocer's assistant. During the

First World War 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 ...

he enlisted in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, serving throughout the conflict. After the end of the war, he became a miner. He joined the Labour Party shortly after, and in 1922 married Jessie Cooper of Dysart; they had two sons.

Politics

Hubbard was elected to Kirkcaldy Town Council in 1936, and also served on the executive of the Fifeshire Miners' Association. In 1941 he suffered a severe leg injury at work, and retired from mining to become instead an

Air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but many ...

superintendent.

By-election candidate

The sitting Labour

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

Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to: Politics *Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21 *Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...

, announced his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

in January 1944. Hubbard was selected on 22 January to fight the seat at the resulting by-election;"By-Election Candidates", ''The Times'', 24 January 1944. he faced opposition from Douglas Young, leader of 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 ...

, and a candidate standing as a 'Christian Socialist'."Kirkcaldy and Attercliffe contests", ''The Times'', 17 February 1944. Hubbard won by 1,647 votes."W. Derbyshire Reactions", ''The Times'', 19 February 1944.

Parliament

Hubbard only rarely intervened in debate, concentrating on issues he knew well including the Scottish mining industry. In November 1944 he called for a universal state

of 30 s. per week;"Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 November 1944. the rate at the time was 10s./week.David Butler and Gareth Butler, "Twentieth Century British Political Facts" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), p. 361. From 1946 to 1947, he served as

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

to the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

Joseph Westwood Joseph Westwood (11 February 1884 – 17 July 1948) was a Scottish Labour Party politician. Educated at Buckhaven Higher Grade School, he worked as a draper's apprentice, messenger boy and miner. Westwood was an Industrial Organiser for Fif ...

Pensions

A strong supporter of nationalisation, Hubbard regarded economic planning as assuring workers that increased production would not mean increased unemployment."Parliament", ''The Times'', 13 March 1947. In 1951 he urged that compulsory retirement ages imposed by trade and professional associations be dropped, and that in industry it could be provided that two aged men could do the work of one."Parliament", ''The Times'', 14 April 1951. He became a Vice-President of the British Council of the Old Age Pension Association, and hon. President of the Scottish Old Age Pension Association.

Health

Supporting development of the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

coalfield, Hubbard argued that it was in "splendid isolation" because the government refused to build a Forth road bridge."Parliament", ''The Times'', 5 November 1953. His health was not good and in March 1954 he collapsed in the lobby of 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. ...

.''The Times'', 24 March 1954. Hubbard, a heavy cigarette smoker, was sceptical of the connection to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

and asked in 1957 about the connections between lung cancer and

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 25 July 1957. Hubbard retired at the 1959 general election.

References

*"Mr. T.F. Hubbard" (Obituary), ''The Times'', 9 January 1961. *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Thomas 1898 births 1961 deaths Councillors in Fife Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs People from Kirkcaldy Scottish miners British coal miners UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Scottish Labour councillors