Thomas Frederick Hubbard (October 1898 – 7 January 1961) was a British

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He represented Kirkcaldy Burghs in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for fifteen years, being a somewhat low-profile Member but often speaking in support of better conditions for

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

ers.

Origins

A native of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

, Hubbard attended only the local elementary school before going to work as a grocer's assistant. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he enlisted in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, serving throughout the conflict. After the end of the war, he became a miner. He joined the Labour Party shortly after, and in 1922 married Jessie Cooper of Dysart; they had two sons.

Politics

Hubbard was elected to Kirkcaldy Town Council in 1936, and also served on the executive of the Fifeshire Miners' Association. In 1941 he suffered a severe leg injury at work, and retired from mining to become instead an

Air-raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

superintendent.

By-election candidate

The sitting Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for

, Tom Kennedy, announced his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

in January 1944. Hubbard was selected on 22 January to fight the seat at the resulting by-election;"By-Election Candidates", ''The Times'', 24 January 1944. he faced opposition from Douglas Young, leader of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

, and a candidate standing as a 'Christian Socialist'."Kirkcaldy and Attercliffe contests", ''The Times'', 17 February 1944. Hubbard won by 1,647 votes."W. Derbyshire Reactions", ''The Times'', 19 February 1944.

Parliament

Hubbard only rarely intervened in debate, concentrating on issues he knew well including the Scottish mining industry. In November 1944 he called for a universal state

of 30 s. per week;"Parliament", ''The Times'', 4 November 1944. the rate at the time was 10s./week.David Butler and Gareth Butler, "Twentieth Century British Political Facts" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2001), p. 361. From 1946 to 1947, he served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

Joseph Westwood Joseph Westwood (11 February 1884 – 17 July 1948) was a Scottish Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1922 until his death, and served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1945 to 1947. Background Westwood was bor ...

Pensions

A strong supporter of nationalisation, Hubbard regarded economic planning as assuring workers that increased production would not mean increased unemployment."Parliament", ''The Times'', 13 March 1947. In 1951 he urged that compulsory retirement ages imposed by trade and professional associations be dropped, and that in industry it could be provided that two aged men could do the work of one."Parliament", ''The Times'', 14 April 1951. He became a Vice-President of the British Council of the Old Age Pension Association, and hon. President of the Scottish Old Age Pension Association.

Health

Supporting development of the

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

coalfield, Hubbard argued that it was in "splendid isolation" because the government refused to build a Forth road bridge."Parliament", ''The Times'', 5 November 1953. His health was not good and in March 1954 he collapsed in the lobby of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

.''The Times'', 24 March 1954. Hubbard, a heavy

cigarette smoker Tobacco smoking is the practice of burning tobacco and ingesting the resulting smoke. The smoke may be inhaled, as is done with cigarettes, or released from the mouth, as is generally done with pipes and cigars. The practice is believed to have ...

, was sceptical of the connection to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and asked in 1957 about the connections between lung cancer and

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

."Parliament", ''The Times'', 25 July 1957. Hubbard retired at the 1959 general election.

References

*"Mr. T.F. Hubbard" (Obituary), ''The Times'', 9 January 1961. *M. Stenton and S. Lees, "Who's Who of British MPs" Vol. IV (Harvester Press, 1981)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Thomas 1898 births 1961 deaths Councillors in Fife Scottish Labour MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies National Union of Mineworkers-sponsored MPs People from Kirkcaldy Scottish miners British coal miners UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 Scottish Labour councillors