Willie Hamilton

William Winter Hamilton (26 June 1917 – 23 January 2000)[1] was a British politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament for constituencies in Fife, Scotland, between 1950 and 1987. He was known for his strong republican views.

Willie Hamilton
Member of Parliament
for West Fife
In office
1950 – February 1974
Preceded byWillie Gallacher
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament
for Central Fife
In office
February 1974 – 1987
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byHenry McLeish
Personal details
Born
William Winter Hamilton

26 June 1917
Houghton-le-Spring, England
Died23 January 2000 (aged 82)
Lincoln, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
(1) Joan Callow
(m. 1944; died 1968)

(2) Margaret Cogle (m. 1982)
Children1 son and 1 daughter (by first wife)
EducationWashington Grammar School
Alma materSheffield University
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
RankCaptain
UnitPioneer Corps

Background

Born in Houghton-le-Spring, the son of a County Durham miner, Hamilton joined the Labour Party as a teenager in 1936. He was educated at Washington Grammar School and Sheffield University (BA, DipEd), and following graduation became a schoolteacher.[1] After initially being a conscientious objector in World War II, he served as a captain with the Pioneer Corps in the Middle East.

Parliamentary career

Hamilton contested West Fife at the 1945 general election, but lost to Communist Willie Gallacher.

In 1950 he overturned that result, winning by over 13,000 votes. In 1974, after boundary changes, he became MP for Fife Central.

In 1987 Hamilton was replaced as Labour candidate in Fife Central by Henry McLeish, and stood in the ultra-safe Conservative seat of South Hams in Devon, South-West England, where he came third, polling just 8% of the vote.

Anti-royal views

He sponsored the equal pay for equal work bill[2] in the 1970s but is best remembered for his stridently anti-royalist views, which he set out in detail in his book My Queen and I.[3] He branded the Queen "a clockwork doll", Princess Margaret "a floozy", and Prince Charles "a twerp". However, he admired the Queen Mother, declaring on her 80th birthday: "I am glad to salute a remarkable old lady. May she live to be the pride of the family."[4]

Personal life

In 1944, Hamiliton married Joan Callow (died 1968), with whom he had a daughter and a son.[2][5] He married his second wife Margaret Cogle in 1982 and for the last 13 years the couple lived in Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire.[2][5] Willie Hamilton died in Lincoln in 2000, aged 82.

References
  1. "HAMILTON, William Winter". Who's Who. 2018 (online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)
  2. George Hume, journalist (27 January 2000). "UK | Scotland | Tributes paid to veteran anti-royalist". BBC News. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  3. Hamilton, Willie (1975). My Queen and I. Quartet Books. ISBN 978-0704320536.
  4. "Biography of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - with a Scottish Flavour". Rampantscotland.com. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  5. Roth, Andrew (27 January 2000). "MP who was an outspoken critic of the royal family". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Willie Gallacher		 Member of Parliament for West Fife
1950–February 1974		 Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Central Fife
February 1974–1987		 Succeeded by
Henry McLeish
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