Simon Mahon (4 April 1914 – 19 October 1986) was a British Labour Party politician.

Biography

Simon Mahon was born into a prominent

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family of Irish descent in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

. His father,

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

Simon Mahon (1886–1961), was a mayor of

who ran for

Liverpool Exchange Liverpool Exchange was a borough constituency within the city of Liverpool in England, centred on Liverpool Exchange railway station. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the ...

MP in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

."Bootle loses a great worker by the death of Alderman Simon Mahon", ''Bootle Times'', 12 May 1961. His brother,

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, was elected MP for

Preston South Preston or Prestons may refer to: Places Australia *Preston, Victoria ** City of Preston (Victoria) **Electoral district of Preston **Preston railway station, Melbourne * Preston, Queensland, Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley regions * Preston, Quee ...

in 1964. His great-nephew, Peter Dowd, has been the Labour MP for the Bootle constituency since 2015, and served in the Shadow Cabinet under

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

until 2020. Mahon was educated at St Joseph's

Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

school and at St James' School,

. He became a general contractor. Mahon was a councillor and later an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of Bootle Borough Council and was chairman of the housing committee and

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Bootle from 1962 to 1963. He was chairman of Bootle

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

and Labour Party. Mahon was Member of Parliament for

from 1955 to 1979. He served as an opposition

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

from 1959 to 1961. In 1968, Mahon and his brother, Peter, together with another Catholic Labour MP, Walter Alldritt, threatened to resign the Whip. They had taken exception to remarks made by Douglas Houghton, Chairman of the

Parliamentary Labour Party The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in the British House of Commons. The group comprises the Labour members of parliament as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes ...

, that large families were a form of "social irresponsibility". Only a midnight meeting with

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

and a written statement that Houghton's views were not party policy reportedly dissuaded the MPs from carrying out their threat. In 1969, Mahon was created a Papal Knight.

Personal life

Mahon married Veronica Robertshaw in 1941; the couple had no children. After his retirement, Mahon moved to live in

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside **Crosby (UK P ...

, where he died in 1986, aged 72.

References

Sources

*''Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974'' *

External links

* 1914 births 1986 deaths Councillors in Merseyside Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 Politicians from Liverpool English people of Irish descent English Roman Catholics {{England-Labour-UK-MP-stub