George Buchanan (politician)

For other people named George Buchanan, see George Buchanan (disambiguation).

George Buchanan PC (30 November 1890 – 28 June 1955) was a Scottish patternmaker, trade union activist, and Member of Parliament.

Buchanan was born in Glasgow, Scotland. A committed socialist, he joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP).

Buchanan was vice-chairman of Glasgow Trades Council and sat on the city council from 1919 to 1923. At the 1922 general election he was elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Gorbals division of Glasgow.

In 1932 Buchanan became chairman of the United Patternmakers Association of Great Britain, a position he held for sixteen years. He initially agreed with James Maxton's moving the ILP out of the mainstream Labour Party, but decided to leave them to rejoin Labour in 1939.

Following the 1945 general election, the new prime minister, Clement Attlee, appointed Buchanan as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland. He also later served as Minister of Pensions.

Buchanan resigned from Parliament in 1948 to take up the position of Chairman of the National Assistance Board, and was succeeded by Alice Cullen.

He died in 1955.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Nicoll Barnes	Member of Parliament for Glasgow Gorbals 1922–1948	Succeeded by Alice Cullen
Preceded by John Burns Hynd	Minister of Pensions 7 October 1947 to 2 July 1948	Succeeded by Hilary Marquand