Alice Cullen
Encyclopedia
Alice Cullen born Alice McLaughlin, was a Scottish
Labour Party
politician. She was the UK's first Roman Catholic woman MP
.
Educated at Lochwinnoch Elementary School, Cullen was a housewife, twice widowed, and married three times. She was a member of Glasgow Corporation from 1935 to 1945, and became a Justice of the Peace
in 1941.
She was elected to the House of Commons
as Member of Parliament
for the ultra-safe Labour seat of Glasgow Gorbals
in a by-election
in 1948, caused by the resignation of the sitting MP George Buchanan
to take up the position of Chairman of the National Assistance Board. She held the seat at subsequent general elections, until her death in 1969 at the age of 78. She was MP for the Gorbals at the time of 'The Gorbals Vampire' incident in Sept 1954 when hundreds of schoolchildren went searching a cemetery armed with stakes to find 'a vampire with iron teeth'. This sparked legislation to prevent the sale of American horror comics to minors which she supported, along with all the other Glasgow MP's.
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...
Labour Party
Labour 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...
politician. She was the UK's first Roman Catholic woman MP
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,...
.
Educated at Lochwinnoch Elementary School, Cullen was a housewife, twice widowed, and married three times. She was a member of Glasgow Corporation from 1935 to 1945, and became a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in 1941.
She was elected to 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...
as 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 the ultra-safe Labour seat of Glasgow Gorbals
Glasgow Gorbals (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Gorbals was a parliamentary constituency in the city of Glasgow. From 1918 until 1974, it returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post system.-Boundaries:...
in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in 1948, caused by the resignation of the sitting MP George Buchanan
George Buchanan (politician)
George Buchanan was born in Glasgow, Scotland. A committed socialist, he joined the Independent Labour Party .Buchanan was vice-chairman of Glasgow Trades Council and sat on the city council from 1919 to 1923...
to take up the position of Chairman of the National Assistance Board. She held the seat at subsequent general elections, until her death in 1969 at the age of 78. She was MP for the Gorbals at the time of 'The Gorbals Vampire' incident in Sept 1954 when hundreds of schoolchildren went searching a cemetery armed with stakes to find 'a vampire with iron teeth'. This sparked legislation to prevent the sale of American horror comics to minors which she supported, along with all the other Glasgow MP's.