Sir John Clarke George, KBE,

CStJ The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

(16 October 190114 October 1972) was a British coalminer and politician. He was one of a very small number of

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 ...

Members 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 ...

to have been working miners.

Early life

George's father, also called John Clarke George, was a miner from

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 ...

. After attending

Ballingry Ballingry ( or locally or (older) ); sco, Ballingry, Bingry, gd, Baile Iongrach) is a small town in Fife, Scotland. It is near the boundary with Perth and Kinross, north of Lochgelly. It has an estimated population (2016) of . The once separat ...

Public School until the age of 14, George began work in the coal mines. However he later trained for management, and rose through the ranks; by 1938 he was appointed Manager of New Cumnock Collieries.

Business life

In 1946, he left the mining industry ( the act nationalising the industry was passed that year), and became manager of Alloa Glass Works. At this point, he became active in politics as a Unionist and, in 1949, he was elected to

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...

County Council. He was an unsuccessful Parliamentary candidate in

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...

in the 1950 general election, but was elected to

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

Town Council in 1951. He was awarded the

CBE 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 1952.

Constitutional problem

At the 1955 general election, George was elected to Parliament as a Unionist for Glasgow Pollok (the Scottish Unionists took the Conservative whip). Almost immediately he was the trigger for a minor constitutional crisis when it was observed that he was a Director of Scottish Slate Industries, a nationalised industry, having been appointed by the Ministry of Works in February 1947. Although George had not received any remuneration, it was possible that it might be an 'office of profit under the Crown' which would disqualify him from election. The matter was referred to a Select Committee, while the government rushed through a Bill to change the law. The Committee found that, under the law as it stood, George was disqualified. A bill to indemnify George from the consequences of having acted as an MP while disqualified, and validate his election, was also passed.

Parliamentary career

George often spoke about the mining industry in Parliament. In 1957, he opposed the decontrol of rents which had been brought in by the Conservative government. However, this did not harm his career and in October 1959 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Power with responsibility for the coal industry, a job he held until June 1962. In 1963, he was made a

Knight Commander of the Order 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 ...

and appointed Chairman of the Unionist Party in Scotland. He stood down from Parliament at the 1964 general election, and retired from his party posts in 1965, returning to business as Chairman of Scottish Rexco Ltd and Preswick Precision Products Ltd.

References

*M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *''The Times''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George, John 1901 births 1972 deaths Commanders of the Order of St John Unionist Party (Scotland) councillors Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish miners UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs People from Ballingry 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964