Aline Mackinnon
Aline Mackinnon (1902-1970) was a British radical feminist, Liberal Party politician and Civil Servant.
Background
She was a daughter of Percy Graham MacKinnon[1] and Mabel Lockett. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and Edinburgh University, where she received a Master of Arts.[2]
Political career
In 1921 she attended the first Liberal Summer School.[3] She was the Honorary Parliamentary Secretary to the Women's Liberal Federation.[4] She was selected as Liberal candidate for Holderness and came second;
| General Election 27 October 1931: Holderness[5]
Electorate 42,734 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Samuel Servington Savery | 21,560 | 61.7 | ||
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 10,471 | 30.0 | ||
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 2,927 | 8.4 | ||
| Majority | 11,089 | 31.7 | |||
| Turnout | 34,958 | 81.8 | |||
She was Honorary Secretary of the Liberal Summer School.[6] She fought Holderness again in 1935, slightly reducing the Conservative majority;
| General Election, 14 November 1935: Holderness[7]
Electorate 57,466 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Samuel Servington Savery | 22,229 | 53.6 | -8.1 | |
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 10,348 | 24.9 | -5.1 | |
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 8,906 | 21.5 | +13.1 | |
| Majority | 11,901 | 28.7 | -3.0 | ||
| Turnout | 41,503 | 72.2 | -9.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -1.5 | |||
She was given another opportunity to enter parliament at the Holderness by-election on 15 February 1939. Despite the presence of a Labour candidate, she had some public support from prominent Labour people who supported the notion of a Popular Front.[8] She had offered to withdraw if the Labour candidate withdrew in favour of an Independent Progressive candidate acceptable to both parties.
| Holderness by-election, 1939 [9]
Electorate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Conservative | Joseph Gurney Braithwaite | 17,742 | 39.4 | -14.2 | |
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 11,590 | 25.7 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 9,629 | 21.3 | -0.2 | |
| Independent | Raleigh Chichester-Constable | 6,103 | 13.5 | n/a | |
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Deprived by the outbreak of war of another crack at Holderness, she retired from elective politics but continued to be active in the national party as a member of the Liberal Party Council,[10] and for the Women's Liberal Federation, serving as Vice-President.[11] She was a Civil Servant from 1941 to 1947.[12] Her Women's Liberal colleague Frances Josephy described her as "very knowledgeable and a brilliant speaker with a pretty wit".[13]
External links
Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp50249/aline-mackinnon
References
- ↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
- ↑ The Lady's Who's who, 1938
- ↑ F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
- ↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ In the year of Munich by Roy Douglas
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ Hull Daily Mail 19 May 1949
- ↑ Surrey Mirror 9 Dec 1949
- ↑ The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
- ↑ F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.