John "Jack" McCann was a British

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...

 politician, who served as the Labour

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...

 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 Rochdale

Rochdale (UK Parliament constituency)

Rochdale is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

.

McCann was educated at elementary school and then at classes of the National Council of Labour Colleges and Workers' Educational Association

Workers' 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...

. He became an engineer and diesel engine fitter and served with the Home Guard

British Home Guard

The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He was elected a councillor on Eccles Borough Council in 1945 and was leader of the Labour Group. He was an Alderman

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 in Eccles from 1952 and Mayor 1955–56. He served as chairman of the West Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 hospital management committee.

McCann first contested the Rochdale seat for Parliament in 1955 without success. He was first elected in a 1958 by-election

Rochdale by-election, 1958

The Rochdale by-election of 13 February 1958 was a by-election for the constituency of Rochdale, in Lancashire, England, in the House of Commons...

 following the death of the sitting Conservative

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 Wentworth Schofield

Wentworth Schofield

Wentworth Schofield was a British politician, who served as the last Conservative Member of Parliament for Rochdale.Schofield hailed from Oldham, Lancashire and was active in the cotton-spinning industry...

.
He became an opposition whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

 in 1961 and in 1964 was appointed to the Government's Whips' Office as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, then in 1966 as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household

Vice-Chamberlain of the Household

The Vice-Chamberlain of the Household is usually a junior government whip in the British House of Commons and is an officer of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. He or she is the Deputy to the Lord Chamberlain of the Household. The Vice-Chamberlain's main role is to compile...

, returning to be a Lord of the Treasury 1967–69.
He retained his seat until his death in 1972.
In the consequent by-election in 1972

Rochdale by-election, 1972

The Rochdale by-election, 1972 was a parliamentary by-election held on 26 October 1972 for the British House of Commons constituency of Rochdale....

, he was succeeded as MP by the 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...

 candidate Cyril Smith

Cyril Smith

Sir Cyril Smith, MBE, was a British politician who served as Liberal and Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for the constituency of Rochdale from 1972 until his retirement in 1992.-Early life:...

, who had previously been a Labour mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of the town.

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