Aline Mackinnon
Aline Mackinnon (30 October 1899[1] – 1 January 1970) was a British radical feminist, Liberal Party politician and civil servant.
Early life and education
[edit]Mackinnon was born in Hadley Wood, Middlesex, the third of four children born to Sir Percy Graham MacKinnon[2] and Mabel Lockett.[3] She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, where she graduated with a Master of Arts.[4]
Political career
[edit]In 1921 she attended the first Liberal Summer School.[5] She was the Honorary Parliamentary Secretary to the Women's Liberal Federation.[6] She was selected as Liberal candidate for Holderness and came second;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Samuel Servington Savery | 21,560 | 61.7 | ||
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 10,471 | 30.0 | ||
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 2,927 | 8.4 | ||
| Majority | 11,089 | 31.7 | |||
| Turnout | 34,958 | 81.8 | |||
She was Honorary Secretary of the Liberal Summer School.[8] She fought Holderness again in 1935, slightly reducing the Conservative majority;
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Samuel Servington Savery | 22,229 | 53.6 | −8.1 | |
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 10,348 | 24.9 | −5.1 | |
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 8,906 | 21.5 | +13.1 | |
| Majority | 11,901 | 28.7 | −3.0 | ||
| Turnout | 41,503 | 72.2 | −9.6 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -1.5 | |||
She was given another opportunity to enter Parliament at the Holderness by-election on 15 February 1939. Despite the presence of a Labour candidate, she had some public support from prominent Labour people who supported the notion of a Popular Front.[10] She had offered to withdraw if the Labour candidate withdrew in favour of an Independent Progressive candidate acceptable to both parties.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Joseph Gurney Braithwaite | 17,742 | 39.4 | −14.2 | |
| Liberal | Miss Aline Mackinnon | 11,590 | 25.7 | +0.8 | |
| Labour | J. L. Schulz | 9,629 | 21.3 | −0.2 | |
| Independent | Raleigh Chichester-Constable | 6,103 | 13.5 | n/a | |
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Deprived by the outbreak of war of another attempt to be elected at Holderness, she retired from elective politics but continued to be active in the national party as a member of the Liberal Party Council,[12] and for the Women's Liberal Federation, serving as Vice-President.[13] She was a civil servant from 1941 to 1947.[14] Her Women's Liberal colleague Frances Josephy described her as "very knowledgeable and a brilliant speaker with a pretty wit".[15]
A keen skier and mountaineer, she died while on vacation in Austria, aged 70.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ↑ 1939 England and Wales Register
- ↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
- ↑ 1911 England Census
- ↑ The Lady's Who's who, 1938
- ↑ F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
- ↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ In the year of Munich by Roy Douglas
- ↑ British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
- ↑ Hull Daily Mail, 19 May 1949
- ↑ Surrey Mirror, 9 Dec 1949
- ↑ The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
- ↑ F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
- ↑ "Deaths". The Times. 3 January 1970. p. 18.
- ↑ "Aline Mackinnon". The Times. 10 January 1970. p. 10.