Scottish Politician. A member of the Labour Party, he served as Leader of the Labour Party from 1917 to 1921 and as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1931. He received a local education worked as a miner in Fife where he became involved with the National Union of Mineworkers and became the Secretary of the Fife and Kinross Association. As a member of the Labour Party, in December 1910 he was first elected to Parliament for West Fife. In October 1917 he was elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Labor Party, a post he held until 1921. He led the party into the general election of 1918, which saw Labour gain 15 seats and become the largest opposition party in the House of Commons for the first time; however, there remained uncertainty as to whether Adamson or the leader of the independent Liberals, Donald McLean could claim to be the true leader of the opposition in the Parliament. In 1918 he was sworn into the Privy Council and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and the latter part of the 1920s, in the Labour governments of Ramsay MacDonald. However, he split with MacDonald after the formation of the National Government. and in 1931 election, he lost his seat which he contested for Labour against MacDonald's coalition, He ran again in 1935 but lost to William Gallacher of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He then retired from public life and died the following year at the age of 72.
Scottish Politician. A member of the Labour Party, he served as Leader of the Labour Party from 1917 to 1921 and as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1931. He received a local education worked as a miner in Fife where he became involved with the National Union of Mineworkers and became the Secretary of the Fife and Kinross Association. As a member of the Labour Party, in December 1910 he was first elected to Parliament for West Fife. In October 1917 he was elected Chairman of the Parliamentary Labor Party, a post he held until 1921. He led the party into the general election of 1918, which saw Labour gain 15 seats and become the largest opposition party in the House of Commons for the first time; however, there remained uncertainty as to whether Adamson or the leader of the independent Liberals, Donald McLean could claim to be the true leader of the opposition in the Parliament. In 1918 he was sworn into the Privy Council and served as Secretary of State for Scotland in 1924 and the latter part of the 1920s, in the Labour governments of Ramsay MacDonald. However, he split with MacDonald after the formation of the National Government. and in 1931 election, he lost his seat which he contested for Labour against MacDonald's coalition, He ran again in 1935 but lost to William Gallacher of the Communist Party of Great Britain. He then retired from public life and died the following year at the age of 72.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
Advertisement
See more Adamson memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
