Catherine MacIntoch "Kay" Carmichael (22 November 1925 – 26 December 2009) (''née'' Rankin) was an influential figure in Scottish politics and an activist against

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...

s in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Life

Carmichael was born at

Shettleston Shettleston ( sco, Shuttlestoun, gd, Baile Nighean Sheadna) is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Shettleston' is not clear and, like many place-names of possibly medieval origin, has had a mult ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

on 22 November 1925. She studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and went on to hold the post of Senior Lecturer at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. At the age of 20 she joined 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 worki ...

in Scotland. Her activism included "guerrilla raids" into

Faslane Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

to plant flowers for which she was sentenced to two weeks in prison. Whilst a member of the UK Government’s Supplementary Benefits Commission in the late 1970s she chose to live for a short while on benefits in the

Lilybank Lilybank is a neighbourhood in the east of Glasgow, Scotland. Neighbouring areas Newbank to the west, Braidfauld to the east and the eastern part of Parkhead to the north. The A74 London Road runs to the south, with the land on the opposite si ...

area of Glasgow. In 1977, BBC Scotland made a documentary based on her experiences. ‘Lilybank:The Fourth World’ was widely resented by residents, decried as ‘poverty porn’ by academics while being praised for its ‘realism’ by others. She was married to

Neil Carmichael, Baron Carmichael of Kelvingrove Neil George Carmichael, Baron Carmichael of Kelvingrove (10 October 1921 – 19 July 2001) was a Scottish politician. He was a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) in Glasgow from 1962 to 1983. Early life Carmichael was the son of James Carmicha ...

, a Scottish MP who became a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

and Member of the House of Lords in 1983: they divorced in 1987. Together they had one daughter. She then married social policy expert

David Donnison David Vernon Donnison (19 January 1926 – 28 April 2018) was a British academic and social scientist, who was Professor of Social Administration at the London School of Economics from 1961 to 1969, and Professor of Town and Regional Planning (19 ...

."David Donnison, social policy expert whose research into poverty changed the lives of many"
Duncan MacLennan and David Webster, The Scotsman, 11 May 2018

Books

* ''It Takes a Lifetime to Become Yourself: A Collection of Writings'' by Kay Carmichael, edited by David Donnison (Scotland Street Press, 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Kay Scottish women activists Scottish activists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1925 births 2009 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow British anti–nuclear weapons activists Politicians from Glasgow Carmichael of Kelvingrove Spouses of life peers