Sir Thomas Galloway Dunlop Galbraith, known as Tam Galbraith, (10 March 1917 – 2 January 1982) was a Scottish
Unionist politician.
Early life
The eldest son and heir of
Thomas Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde
Thomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde, PC (20 March 1891 – 12 July 1985), was a Scottish Unionist Party politician.
After serving in the Royal Navy, he became a chartered accountant and practised, 1925–70. He was elevated to the ...
, Galbraith was educated at
Aytoun House, Glasgow;
Wellington College;
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
(
MA), and at the
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
(
LLB).
He served as a lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal may refer to:
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* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
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* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Roya ...
1939–1946.
Political career
Galbraith unsuccessfully contested
Paisley in July 1945, and
Edinburgh East
Edinburgh East was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
It existed ...
at a
by-election in October 1945 before being elected for
Glasgow Hillhead at
a by-election in 1948. Galbraith won the seat with an increased majority, although his Labour rival's vote share was only slightly reduced. In victory, Galbraith expressed pleasure that the campaign between the parties had been "clean" and "friendly".
Commenting on the by-election, an editorial in ''
The Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'' noted that he had increased the Unionist Party's majority by a third, which it argued was "a notable achievement by a young candidate succeeding one of the outstanding Unionist members of recent years."
It also criticised the view that the result was disappointing for Conservative and Unionists due to the fact that the result was not as good as that achieved in the recent
Edmonton by-election, where the Conservative vote had substantially increased while Labour's vote fell significantly.
He was Assistant Conservative Whip (1950), a Government Whip (1951–57),
Civil Lord of the Admiralty (1957–59),
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kn ...
(1959–62), and
Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport was a junior position at the British Ministry of Transport. The office was renamed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its former name at the end of the S ...
, (1963–64).
Vassall affair
During Galbraith's time at the Admiralty, questions were raised about his connection to the Soviet spy
John Vassall
William John Christopher Vassall (20 September 1924 – 18 November 1996) was a British people, British civil servant who spied for the Soviet Union, allegedly under pressure of blackmail, from 1954 until his arrest in 1962. Although operating o ...
, a former Admiralty employee, after letters from Galbraith were found in Vassall's possession. It was thought odd that a minister would communicate by post with an official of his own department, and there was considerable speculation of impropriety in the press. Given Vassall's known homosexuality, rumours began to circulate that Vassall and Galbraith were involved with each other and that Galbraith might have shielded Vassall from discovery.
The
committee of civil servants originally established to probe the Vassall affair investigated the correspondence and declared it innocent, but the verdict was not universally accepted. Eventually the Prime Minister was compelled to open a wider inquiry, conducted by three jurists. This second inquiry determined that Vassall had not been helped or favoured by any of his seniors.
Vassall later denied in his memoirs that there had been any sexual relationship between the two men.
Honours
Galbraith was President of the
Scottish Georgian Society from 1970 to 1980 and was a Member of the
Royal Company of Archers
The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...
. He was knighted (
KBE
KBE may refer to:
* Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters
* Knowledge-based engineering
Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...
) in 1981.
Death and aftermath
Galbraith died at the start of 1982, while still a Member of Parliament. He had successfully fought ten elections and, with 33 years of service, was Scotland's longest-serving MP. Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, in response to his death, said she was "deeply saddened by his death, especially so soon after his knighthood had been announced."
''The Glasgow Herald'' claimed he was known "as the quiet man of Scottish politics".
Galbraith's death triggered a high-profile
by-election for the Hillhead seat which would have a major impact on British politics. In the immediate aftermath of the news that Galbraith had died, Denis Sullivan, the chairman of the newly established
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
in Scotland, indicated that the majority of the party in Scotland wished one of the SDP's founders, and former
Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
,
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...
, to be their candidate at the by-election.
Jenkins ultimately won the contest, enabling him to emerge as the person who would lead the
SDP–Liberal Alliance
The SDP–Liberal Alliance was a centrist and social liberal political alliance, political and electoral alliance in the United Kingdom.
Formed by the Social Democratic Party (UK), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party (UK), Libera ...
at the
next general election.
Marriage and family
Galbraith married Simone Clotilde Fernande Marie Ghislaine Blicquy on 11 April 1956. They had three children:
* (Anne Marie) Ghislaine du Roy Galbraith (born 14 December 1957)
*
Thomas Galloway Dunlop du Roy de Blicquy Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde (born 22 February 1960)
* Charles William Du Roy De Blicquy Galbraith (born 20 May 1962)
Galbraith predeceased his father, the 1st Baron. His elder son succeeded as 2nd Baron in 1985 and was subsequently a Conservative junior Minister, Chief Whip in the Lords and Leader of the House of Lords.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbraith, Tam
1917 births
1982 deaths
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Royal Navy officers of World War II
Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs
Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Lords of the Admiralty
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies
People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
Politicians from Glasgow
Scottish Conservative MPs
UK MPs 1945–1950
UK MPs 1950–1951
UK MPs 1951–1955
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
UK MPs 1979–1983
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Treasurers of the Household
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Members of the Royal Company of Archers
Hillhead
Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955
Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957
Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964