James Maxton
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James Maxton (1885 – 23 July 1946) was a Scottish socialist politician, and leader of the Independent Labour Party.
Born in the then burgh of Pollokshaws (now Pollok, Glasgow) in 1885, he was the son of two schoolteachers, the profession he would later enter himself after his education at Hutchesons' Grammar School and the University of Glasgow. He is viewed as one of the leading figures of the Red Clydeside era.
Maxton had whilst studying at the University of Glasgow described his political loyalties as lying with the Conservatives. He later embraced the ideology of socialism and in 1904 he joined the Barrhead branch of the Independent Labour Party (ILP).
Maxton's move to socialism was heavily influenced by John Maclean, a fellow student at Glasgow University, who would also become a schoolteacher. Maclean was not alone in influencing Maxton; it was directly following a meeting in Paisley addressed by the socialist Philip Snowden that he decided to join the ILP.
Maxton in his later life claimed that the biggest influence in his decision to become a socialist was the grinding poverty experienced by many of the children he taught. He subsequently convinced all his siblings to join the ILP, his sister Annie becoming a prominent figure.
Maxton, along with Maclean, was a vociferous opponent of World War I and he spent a year in prison for campaigning against the war. He and Ramsay MacDonald were responsible for moving the motion at the Labour Party's National Executive Committee which dictated that Labour members of the wartime coalition government resign from it in preparation for the 1918 general election.
Maxton became the ILP MP for Glasgow Bridgeton at the 1922 general election and led the ILP thereafter. He was initially keen that the ILP retained its affiliation with the Labour Party but later changed his mind and led the ILP out of any association with Labour.
Maxton died (still a sitting MP for Bridgeton) in 1946. After his death the ILP stagnated until it ceased to be a viable independent political party. Maxton was considered one of the greatest orators of his day both within and outside the House of Commons.
However, his forthright views often caused controversy, indeed his parliamentary privileges were withdrawn on one occasion when he called Winston Churchill "a murderer" following the government's decision to withdraw school milk. Churchill, whilst holding political opinions wholly inconsistent with those of Maxton, described him as the greatest parliamentarian of his day.
Maxton heavily influenced his family's political opinions, with his mother and all his siblings joining the ILP. His nephew John Maxton was MP for the Cathcart section of Glasgow from 1979 till 2001.
The British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown has confessed to having been fascinated by Maxton as a young man and has written a biography of him, simply entitled Maxton.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexander MacCallum Scott |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Bridgeton 1922–1946 |
Succeeded by James Carmichael |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Clifford Allen |
Chairman of the Independent Labour Party 1926–1931 |
Succeeded by Fenner Brockway |
| Preceded by Fenner Brockway |
Chairman of the Independent Labour Party 1934–1939 |
Succeeded by C. A. Smith |
Categories: 1885 births | 1946 deaths | People from Glasgow | Scottish socialists | Independent Labour Party MPs | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from Scottish constituencies | Members of the United Kingdom Parliament from Glasgow constituencies | Alumni of the University of Glasgow | UK MPs 1922-1923 | UK MPs 1923-1924 | UK MPs 1924-1929 | UK MPs 1929-1931 | UK MPs 1931-1935 | UK MPs 1935-1945 | UK MPs 1945-1950
