John Calder Forman (1884 – 14 April 1975) was a British insurance agent and politician.

Municipal life

John Forman began his political career on

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Corporation in 1928. He was appointed a

Baillie A bailie or baillie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where bailies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate (see bailiff). Baillies appointed the high constables ...

and was Chairman of the

Public Assistance Committee A public assistance committee (PAC), in the UK, was a body locally created after the abolition of the boards of guardians in 1930 by the Local Government Act 1929, when their powers and responsibilities for poor relief were passed to county and c ...

; in 1935 he was appointed to a Scottish Office committee investigating the operation of the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

. He also served on Rent Tribunals under the Rent of Furnished Houses Control (Scotland) Act 1943, determining the fair rent for private tenancies.

Election to Parliament

At the

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, Forman was elected as a

Labour and Co-operative Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an e ...

Member of Parliament for Glasgow Springburn. After he had taken the oath, it was noticed that his position on the Rent Tribunals was remunerated and that he therefore might hold an 'office of profit under the Crown' which would disqualify him from election. A Select Committee was set up which reported that his election was invalid; a Bill was rushed through validating it and indemnifying him from the consequences of acting as an MP while disqualified.The Coatbridge and Springburn Elections (Validation) Act 1945, (9 & 10 George 6.) 3.

Political stance

Forman was on the left of the Labour Party and was a consistent opponent of

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

and

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

. Over the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

in 1954, Forman was one of six Labour MPs who voted with the Conservative government to support the dismantling of the British base in Suez; the unofficial leader of this group, Emrys Hughes, declared that he agreed that the base was obsolete in the age of the hydrogen bomb. He was a member of the Parliamentary Temperance Group and in 1957 supported restrictions on access to clubs selling alcohol for children.

Later career

After the 1959 general election, Forman's attendance declined. He was one of the Members of Parliament mentioned on BBC Television's "

That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...

" on 19 January 1963 as having made no speeches in Parliament since the general election. He retired at the 1964 general election.

References

Sources

* *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981) *Philip Norton, "Dissension in the House of Commons 1945-74" (Macmillan, 1975)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forman, John 1884 births 1975 deaths Councillors in Glasgow Labour Co-operative MPs for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Scottish Labour councillors Springburn