Florence Paton
Encyclopedia
Florence Beatrice Paton née Widdowson, was a Labour Party
politician in the United Kingdom
, and a Member of Parliament
(MP) from 1945
to 1950
.
, Somerset
, where her father was a railway guard. The family moved to Wolverhampton
, where she later became a schoolteacher. A Methodist lay preacher, she was initially a Liberal
, but joined the Independent Labour Party
(ILP) in 1917.
at the Cheltenham by-election in 1928
, and at the 1929 general election
, she contested the Rushcliffe
constituency in Nottinghamshire
. After her marriage in 1930 to the future Labour MP John Paton
, she stood again in Rushcliffe in 1931
. When the ILP split from Labour in 1932, John and Florence Paton stayed with the ILP. They left the following year, and rejoined the Labour Party, but by then the Ruschcliffe Constituency Labour Party
had selected H.J. Cadogan as its prospective parliamentary candidate
. She was reselected as candidate only after Cadogan had been defeated in the 1934 by-election and at the 1935 general election
.
She won the Rushcliffe seat at the 1945 general election
, but after boundary changes in 1950, she stood at the 1950 general election
in the new Carlton
constituency. She lost by only 395 votes to the Conservative Party
candidate Kenneth Pickthorn, and although she stood again in 1951
and 1955
, Pickthorn increased his majority on each occasion.
to the Chairmen's Panel of Members to act as temporary chairmen of committees of the whole House and chairmen of standing committees. During a supply day debate on Scottish civil aviation estimates on 31 May 1948, she became the first woman to preside over the whole House of Commons
. She did not, however, sit in the Speaker's Chair.
When the House is in committee, the chairman sits at the table, rather than in the Speaker's Chair; the first woman to occupy the Speaker's Chair was the Conservative Party
MP Betty Harvie Anderson
(Conservative), on 2 July 1970, who took took the Chair during the debate on the Queen's Speech.
In 1947, she was a British delegate to the United Nations
.
on common land
.
She died in Wolverhampton on 12 October 1976. Her husband John
, who had held his parliamentary seat until 1966, died two months later.
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 in the United Kingdom
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...
, and 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,...
(MP) from 1945
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...
to 1950
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...
.
Early life
She was born in TauntonTaunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, where her father was a railway guard. The family moved to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, where she later became a schoolteacher. A Methodist lay preacher, she was initially a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
, but joined the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP) in 1917.
Electoral history
Under her maiden name of Florence Widdowson, she first stood for ParliamentParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
at the Cheltenham by-election in 1928
Cheltenham by-election, 1928
The Cheltenham by-election, 1928 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 September 1928 for the British House of Commons constituency of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire....
, and at the 1929 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1929
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, she contested the Rushcliffe
Rushcliffe (UK Parliament constituency)
-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Elections in the 80's:-Notes and references:...
constituency in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. After her marriage in 1930 to the future Labour MP John Paton
John Paton (UK politician)
John Paton was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1964.He was elected at the 1945 general election as MP for the two-seat Norwich constituency...
, she stood again in Rushcliffe in 1931
United Kingdom general election, 1931
The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...
. When the ILP split from Labour in 1932, John and Florence Paton stayed with the ILP. They left the following year, and rejoined the Labour Party, but by then the Ruschcliffe Constituency Labour Party
Constituency Labour Party
A Constituency Labour Party is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular UK parliamentary constituency in England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide Constituency Labour Party...
had selected H.J. Cadogan as its prospective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate
Prospective parliamentary candidate is a term used in British politics to refer to candidates selected by political parties to fight individual constituencies in advance of a general election. This terminology was motivated by the strict limits on the amount of expenses incurred by an actual...
. She was reselected as candidate only after Cadogan had been defeated in the 1934 by-election and at the 1935 general election
United 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...
.
She won the Rushcliffe seat 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...
, but after boundary changes in 1950, she stood at 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...
in the new Carlton
Carlton (UK Parliament constituency)
Carlton was a constituency in Nottinghamshire which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the 1983 general election. It was then partly replaced by the new Gedling constituency.-Members of Parliament:...
constituency. She lost by only 395 votes to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate Kenneth Pickthorn, and although she stood again in 1951
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...
and 1955
United 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...
, Pickthorn increased his majority on each occasion.
In Parliament
At the start of the 1946-47 session of Parliament, she was nominated by the SpeakerSpeaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
to the Chairmen's Panel of Members to act as temporary chairmen of committees of the whole House and chairmen of standing committees. During a supply day debate on Scottish civil aviation estimates on 31 May 1948, she became the first woman to preside over the whole 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...
. She did not, however, sit in the Speaker's Chair.
When the House is in committee, the chairman sits at the table, rather than in the Speaker's Chair; the first woman to occupy the Speaker's Chair was the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Betty Harvie Anderson
Betty Harvie Anderson
Miss Margaret Betty Harvie Anderson, Baroness Skrimshire of Quarter, OBE, PC, TD, DL was a British Conservative Party politician....
(Conservative), on 2 July 1970, who took took the Chair during the debate on the Queen's Speech.
In 1947, she was a British delegate to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
After Parliament
From 1955 to 1958, Paton was a member of the Royal CommissionRoyal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
.
She died in Wolverhampton on 12 October 1976. Her husband John
John Paton (UK politician)
John Paton was a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom, and a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1964.He was elected at the 1945 general election as MP for the two-seat Norwich constituency...
, who had held his parliamentary seat until 1966, died two months later.