The Scottish Labour College was founded in 1916, by John Maclean among others. It was modelled on the

Central Labour College The Central Labour College, also known as The Labour College, was a British higher education institution supported by trade unions. It functioned from 1909 to 1929. It was established on the basis of independent working class education. The colle ...

in London. It ran evening classes in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and elsewhere. Despite difficulties from continuing arrest and imprisonment, Maclean had been running lectures in Bath Street,

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 ...

since 1912, and attracting audiences of between 100-200 people. In 1916 was decided to set up the College to organise more regular events. At the founding meeting 471 delegates representing 271

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

were present - but Maclean was in jail. However his speech was delivered by James Dunlop MacDougall, and soon published as a pamphlet:
A Plea for a Labour College for Scotland
An Address Prepared By John MacLean and Completed By J D MacDougall During the Author's Imprisonment in 1916''. Attendees included

Mary Brooksbank Mary Brooksbank (born Soutar; 15 December 1897 – 16 March 1978) was a Scottish mill worker, socialist, trade unionist and songwriter. She was an active member of the Communist Party of Great Britain between 1920 and 1933, and spent three ...

References

Labor schools {{Scotland-edu-stub

See also

References