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

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

who has served as Lord Speaker, the presiding officer of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, since 2021. He was a member of Parliament for the

Labour and Co-operative Party Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

from 1987 to 2010, first for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

and then from 2005 for West Dunbartonshire. He also served as Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee. Following his appointment to the

, McFall served as Senior Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2021 before succeeding Lord Fowler as Lord Speaker.

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, 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 Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

in education and philosophy. He was a chemistry and maths teacher from 1974 to 1987 in

, Kirkintilloch and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, becoming a deputy-head in Glasgow and secretary of his

Constituency Labour Party A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency. In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Sc ...

before he entered Parliament. Whilst a teacher he completed a part-time course over three years at the University of Strathclyde 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, 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 wh ...

, the Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill which, although unsuccessful, informed the Hunting Act 2004 outlawing the hunting of mammals by dogs in England and Wales. He was a

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and junior minister (for Education, Training and Employment, Health and Community Relations, then in 1999 for Economy and Education) at the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

from 1998 to 1999. In 2001 he was appointed Chair of the

Treasury Select 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 committee is responsible for examining and scrutinizing the ...

, 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 regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom between 2001 and 2013. It was founded as the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) in 1985 ...

. On 29 January 2010, McFall announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the 2010 general election.

House of Lords

On 17 June 2010, he was created a

as Baron McFall of Alcluith, ''of Dumbarton in

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire () or the County of Dumbarton is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbar ...

'', and was introduced in the

on 6 July 2010. He was 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 the 2021 Lord Speaker election, McFall was elected as Lord Speaker, succeeding Lord Fowler. In 2023 he suggested the House of Lords needs more independent, expert peers. Lord McFall stated he was making no direct criticism of recent peerage choices, but the upper house was in danger of becoming "out of sync" with its balance of legislators. McFall planned to meet

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2022 to 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer's La ...

to lift a cap limiting the number of new, non-party expert peers that can be created by the House of Lords Appointments Commission, currently set at a maximum of two a year.

Other activities

He was 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. Since 2023, he routinely hosts the House of Lords themed podcast Lord Speaker's Corner, which features him discussing peership and other political topics with fellow Lords in Parliament.

Personal life

McFall's family lived in Bellsmyre, Dumbarton, where he met and married Joan Ward. They have three sons and a daughter.

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*
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
* 7 April 2008 �
Government must gauge effect of winter heating payments on fuel poverty
* 10 March 2008 �
Added value
* 5 March 2008 �
Helping people back into work
* 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

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 of Alcluith, John McFall, Baron 1944 births Living people People from Dumbarton Nobility from West Dunbartonshire Scottish people of Irish descent Alumni of the Open University Alumni of Strathclyde Business School 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 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