John McKean McLachlan (27 August 1873 – 29 December 1930)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995'' was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

socialist politician. McLachlan was elected to

Levenshulme Levenshulme () is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, bordering Fallowfield, Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish, halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre on the A6 road (England), A6. Levenshulm ...

District Council in the early-1900s. He first became prominent as a left-wing member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

(ILP); at its 1906 conference, he was the lead opponent of a motion against

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, holding that such training would assist with building a citizen's army. During 1908, McLachlan supported

Victor Grayson Albert Victor Grayson (born 5 September 1881, disappeared 28 September 1920) was an English socialist politician of the early 20th century. An Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament from 1907 to 1910, Grayson is most notable for his sens ...

's independent "Right to Work" candidates for

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

, and also campaigned for

Dan Irving David Daniel Irving (31 October 1854 – 25 January 1924) was a British socialist activist and Labour Party Member of Parliament. Biography Born in Birmingham, Irving moved to Bristol in 1875, where he began working on the railways. After ...

of the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...

(SDF) at the 1908 Manchester North West by-election.

Duncan Tanner Duncan Tanner (19 February 1958 – 11 February 2010) was a political historian and academic. His best-known work covered the British Labour Party and voting in the early 20th century. He held the post of director of the Welsh Institute for Social ...

, ''Political Change and the Labour Party 1900-1918'' p.146 McLachlan himself stood in

Ardwick Ardwick is an area of Manchester, England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealt ...

for the city council in

in 1909, and was elected. Despite this, it was a surprise when he was adopted as the official Labour Party candidate for Manchester South West at the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

. He took only 16.6% of the vote, and was not elected. McLachlan was elected to the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the ILP in 1909, along with other left-wingers, including

Leonard Hall Leonard Hall may refer to: People *Leonard Hall (boxer) (born 1907, date of death unknown), Rhodesian and later South African boxer *Leonard Hall (socialist) (1866–1916), British trade unionist and socialist activist *Leonard J. Hall (born 1943), ...

and

Russell Smart Hyman Russell Smart (1858 – 12 November 1923) was a British socialist activist. Born in London, Smart attended Dulwich College before becoming an actor. However, he soon changed careers and instead became a sanitation engineer.Martin Crick, ' ...

. Concerned about the direction of the Labour Party under

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

and the ILP's role in this, McLachlan compiled a document entitled ''Let us reform the Labour Party'', but generally known as the ''Green Manifesto'', with contributions from co-thinkers including Hall, C. T. Douthwaite and J. H. Belcher.David Howell, ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.XII, pp.72-76 In 1911, the SDF formed the new

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

, hoping that dissidents on the left of the ILP would join. Although Douthwaite left to join the new party, McLachlan opted to remain in the ILP and work with G. H. Stuart on the NAC. They formed part of a broader left including

George Lansbury George Lansbury (22 February 1859 – 7 May 1940) was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1 ...

and

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

, but the resignations of Lansbury and Hardie from the council in 1912 left them isolated. By 1919, McLachlan was suffering with poor health, and resigned his seat on the council; R. C. Wallhead won the election to succeed him. His health did not improve, and he underwent a major operation in 1924, and it was noted in the ''

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that he received a

blood transfusion Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

during it."City constable and ex-city councillor: a transfusion of blood", ''

'', 1 May 1924

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, John McKean 1873 births 1930 deaths Councillors in Manchester Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People from Levenshulme Politicians from Manchester