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British politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Janet Laurel Adamson (née Johnston;[1] 9 May 1882 – 25 April 1962) was a British Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1938 to 1946, and as a junior minister in Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government.
Janet Laurel Adamson | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of Parliament for Bexley | |
| In office 5 July 1945 – 21 July 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Ashley Bramall |
| Member of Parliament for Dartford | |
| In office 7 November 1938 – 15 June 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Edward Clarke |
| Succeeded by | Norman Dodds |
| Chair of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party | |
| In office 1935–1936 | |
| Preceded by | William Albert Robinson |
| Succeeded by | Hugh Dalton |
| Member of London County Council for Lambeth North | |
| In office 8 March 1928 – 5 March 1931 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Charles Powell |
| Succeeded by | Ida Samuel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Janet Laurel Johnston 9 May 1882 Kilmarnock, Scotland |
| Died | 25 April 1962 (aged 79) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | William Murdoch Adamson (died 1945) |
Janet Laurel Johnston was born on 9 May 1882, the daughter of Thomas Johnston of Kirkcudbright. She married, in 1902, to William Murdoch Adamson, a Transport and General Workers' Union official who became Labour MP for Cannock.[1][2]
From 1928 to 1931, Adamson was a member of London County Council for Lambeth North. She served on the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 1927 to 1947, which she chaired from 1935 to 1936.[1][2]
Adamson unsuccessfully contested Dartford at the 1935 general election, when the sitting Conservative MP Frank Clarke held the seat with a significantly reduced majority.[3] However, Clarke died in July 1938, and at the resulting by-election in November 1938, Adamson won the seat on a swing of 4.2%.[3] With her husband, they became the only husband and wife in the House of Commons.[4]
The constituency was divided in boundary changes for the 1945 general election, when Adamson was elected with a large majority (27% of the votes) for the new Bexley constituency.[5] She served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary from 1940 to 1945 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions from 1945 to 1946,[1] under minister Wilfred Paling.
Adamson resigned from Parliament in 1946, becoming Deputy Chair of the Unemployment Assistance Board from 1946 to 1953.[1] Her resignation precipitated a by-election in July 1946 which was narrowly won by the Labour candidate Ashley Bramall.[5] At the next general election, in 1950, the seat was won by future Prime Minister Edward Heath.
Adamson died on 25 April 1962.[6]
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