Loading AI tools
British journalist and politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ernest George Allighan (16 February 1895 – 17 August 1977) was a British journalist and Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP).
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (June 2013) |
Garry Allighan | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Gravesend | |
In office 5 July 1945 – 30 October 1947 | |
Preceded by | Sir Irving Albery |
Succeeded by | Richard Acland |
Personal details | |
Born | Ernest George Alligan 16 February 1895 |
Died | 1977 (aged 81–82) Johannesburg, South Africa |
Political party | Labour (until 1947) Independent (from 1947) |
Occupation | Journalist and author |
He was born with the surname Alligan and added the 'h' because he believed that it would make it seem more Irish (even though 'Alligan' is the original Irish spelling and he himself was of Irish descent).[citation needed]
A former writer for the Daily Mirror, at the 1945 general election he was elected to Parliament for the constituency of Gravesend in Kent.
In 1947, he wrote an article for the World's Press News alleging that members of parliament gave information to the newspapers about private parliamentary party meetings, often in return for money, publicity or free drinks. The allegation, which was considered a grave infringement of parliamentary privilege, was investigated by the Committee of Privileges, who decided there was no evidence to support them. The only exception was the case of Allighan himself and another Labour member, who were found to have sold such information to the London Evening Standard.
The other member, Evelyn Walkden, admitted the offence and since he had paid taxes on the money, was permitted to remain as an MP. Allighan was charged with "aggravated contempt and gross breach of privilege" and expelled from the House of Commons on 30 October 1947. In the debate, the Leader of the House, Herbert Morrison, proposed six months' suspension but it was argued that this would deprive his constituents of representation for too long a period. It was also observed that after expulsion he was free to seek re-election if he believed he had been treated unfairly and, if returned, could resume his seat. However, he chose not to do this and immediately resigned from the Labour Party. He appears to have been the only MP since Charles Bradlaugh in the 19th century to have been expelled from the Commons other than for a serious criminal offence or bankruptcy.
At the resulting Gravesend by-election, Richard Acland held the seat for Labour, with a reduced majority.
After the affair, he moved to South Africa, where he became principal of the Premier School of Journalism in Johannesburg. He wrote a number of well-received books on the politics of South Africa and Rhodesia. In 1961 he published the controversial Four Bonnets to Golgotha, a book about four members of the Booth family: Catherine, Florence, Evangeline Booth and Catherine Bramwell-Booth.
He died in Johannesburg on 17 August 1977.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.