Alfred Balfour
Encyclopedia
Alfred Balfour was a British
railwayman and politician. He worked his way up from being a baker's message boy to serve as a Member of Parliament
for fourteen years. He was marked by his loyalty to party and near silence in the House of Commons
where he waited eight years after being elected before making his maiden
and only speech.
. He went only to elementary school, before beginning work as a baker
's message boy. He later worked in a sawmill
, in a tannery
, and as a carter before joining the railways at the age of 19. In his youth he was a keen amateur boxer
, and was for a time the amateur bantamweight
boxing champion of the North of Scotland
.
and the National Council of Labour Colleges, and he also became an active member of the National Union of Railwaymen
. He was Secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the NUR for twenty years, and represented railwaymen on Aberdeen Trades Council
. For many years, Balfour was a member of the NUR Executive. His job was eventually to be parcels foreman at Aberdeen railway station
, and he was chairman of the employees' side of the sectional council of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
for twelve years.
, being made a delegate to the Labour Party annual conference, and he served on Aberdeen Town Council from 1941 until he stood down in 1942. It was his prominence in the railway union which led to his selection as Labour candidate for West Stirlingshire
at the 1945 general election
. He followed Thomas Johnston
, who was Secretary of State for Scotland
in the war-time Coalition.
; the election as a whole showed a strong movement to the Labour Party. In Parliament Balfour became a very low-profile Member. He made no speeches at all, and asked only a handful of questions in the first two years before contributing nothing in the last three sessions.
His silence was accompanied by invariable loyalty to the party whip. In a free vote in December 1947 he supported a motion to cut the proposed additional allowance paid to Princess Elizabeth
after her marriage.
In the 1950 general election
Balfour was re-elected with a majority increased to over 4,000, and in the 1951 election
it increased again; both were against the national trend.
in a debate on industry in Scotland. As he began speaking, he explained that he had tried to get in to speak in other debates but found it so difficult that it was hardly worthwhile. He then observed "People get up here from time to time and keep us here for hours on end, and I have said 'What's the use of inflicting another torture upon the House?'" In the main body of his speech he opposed the policy of building new town
s when old towns, including those in his constituency, were becoming derelict.
His activity in the remainder of the Parliament was confined to asking several written Parliamentary Questions. In May 1954 he asked a written question about the cost of refurbishing the flat of the Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain
on the Parliamentary estate.
, Balfour did not make any further speeches or ask any questions (either oral or written) before announcing in 1958 that he would not be a candidate for re-election.
In his last months in the House of Commons
, Balfour at first signed a motion put down by Malcolm Macmillan
opposing the transfer of some NATO-assigned United States Air Force
nuclear bombers from France
to United Kingdom bases. When party leader Hugh Gaitskell
called on Labour members to withdraw their names, Balfour complied.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
railwayman and politician. He worked his way up from being a baker's message boy to serve as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for fourteen years. He was marked by his loyalty to party and near silence in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
where he waited eight years after being elected before making his maiden
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
and only speech.
Youth
Balfour was the son of a shoemaker, and was born in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. He went only to elementary school, before beginning work as a baker
Baker
A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
's message boy. He later worked in a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
, in a tannery
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, and as a carter before joining the railways at the age of 19. In his youth he was a keen amateur boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and was for a time the amateur bantamweight
Bantamweight
Bantamweight is usually a class in boxing for boxers who weigh above 115 pounds and up to 118 pounds . However, in Mixed Martial Arts it is 134-136 pounds . Wrestling also has similar weight classes including bantamweight...
boxing champion of the North of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Railways
In 1913 he married Margaret Grant; they had three daughters. Balfour continued his education in evening classes including through the Workers' Educational AssociationWorkers' Educational Association
The Workers’ Educational Association seeks to provide access to education and lifelong learning for adults from all backgrounds, and in particular those who have previously missed out on education. The International Federation of Workers Education Associations has consultative status to UNESCO...
and the National Council of Labour Colleges, and he also became an active member of the National Union of Railwaymen
National Union of Railwaymen
The National Union of Railwaymen was a trade union of railway workers in the United Kingdom. It an industrial union founded in 1913 by the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants , the United Pointsmen and Signalmen's Society and the General Railway Workers' Union .The NUR...
. He was Secretary of the Aberdeen branch of the NUR for twenty years, and represented railwaymen on Aberdeen Trades Council
Labour council
A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or state level...
. For many years, Balfour was a member of the NUR Executive. His job was eventually to be parcels foreman at Aberdeen railway station
Aberdeen railway station
Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.- History :...
, and he was chairman of the employees' side of the sectional council of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
for twelve years.
Politics
Through his union activities, Balfour became active in the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, being made a delegate to the Labour Party annual conference, and he served on Aberdeen Town Council from 1941 until he stood down in 1942. It was his prominence in the railway union which led to his selection as Labour candidate for West Stirlingshire
West Stirlingshire (UK Parliament constituency)
West Stirlingshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post electoral system....
at the 1945 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
. He followed Thomas Johnston
Thomas Johnston
Thomas "Tom" Johnston CH was a prominent Scottish socialist and politician of the early 20th century, a member of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and government minister – usually with Cabinet responsibility for Scottish affairs.-Red Clydesider:Johnston, the son of a middle-class...
, who was Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
in the war-time Coalition.
Parliamentary activity
Balfour won the seat, but his election was unusual as he had a reduced majority compared to the 1935 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
; the election as a whole showed a strong movement to the Labour Party. In Parliament Balfour became a very low-profile Member. He made no speeches at all, and asked only a handful of questions in the first two years before contributing nothing in the last three sessions.
His silence was accompanied by invariable loyalty to the party whip. In a free vote in December 1947 he supported a motion to cut the proposed additional allowance paid to Princess Elizabeth
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
after her marriage.
In the 1950 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
Balfour was re-elected with a majority increased to over 4,000, and in the 1951 election
United Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
it increased again; both were against the national trend.
Belated maiden speech
On 14 July 1953, Balfour finally broke eight years' silence in the chamber to make his maiden speechMaiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
in a debate on industry in Scotland. As he began speaking, he explained that he had tried to get in to speak in other debates but found it so difficult that it was hardly worthwhile. He then observed "People get up here from time to time and keep us here for hours on end, and I have said 'What's the use of inflicting another torture upon the House?'" In the main body of his speech he opposed the policy of building new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
s when old towns, including those in his constituency, were becoming derelict.
His activity in the remainder of the Parliament was confined to asking several written Parliamentary Questions. In May 1954 he asked a written question about the cost of refurbishing the flat of the Secretary to the Lord Great Chamberlain
Lord Great Chamberlain
The Lord Great Chamberlain of England is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable...
on the Parliamentary estate.
Retirement
Re-elected with a reduced majority in the 1955 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
, Balfour did not make any further speeches or ask any questions (either oral or written) before announcing in 1958 that he would not be a candidate for re-election.
In his last months in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, Balfour at first signed a motion put down by Malcolm Macmillan
Malcolm Macmillan
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan was a Scottish Labour Party politician and journalist.At the 1935 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the Western Isles...
opposing the transfer of some NATO-assigned United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
nuclear bombers from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to United Kingdom bases. When party leader Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
called on Labour members to withdraw their names, Balfour complied.