William Adamson

William Adamson (1863–1936) was born in Dunfermline, Scotland and worked as a miner in Fife where he became involved with the National Union of Mineworkers. Active with the new Labour Party he was first elected to Parliament for Fife West in 1910 and became leader of the party in 1917, a position he held until 1921. Adamson served as Secretary for Scotland and Secretary of State for Scotland in the Labour governments of Ramsay MacDonald, splitting with MacDonald when he formed the National Government. Adamson lost his seat in the 1931 election which he contested for Labour against MacDonald's coalition. He stood again in the 1935 election but again failed to take the seat, losing on this occasion to William Gallacher of the Communist Party of Great Britain.

[edit] References

Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by: John Deans Hope	Member of Parliament for Fife West 1910–1931	Succeeded by: Charles Black Milne
Political offices
Preceded by: Arthur Henderson	Leader of the British Labour Party 1917–1921	Succeeded by: John Robert Clynes
Preceded by: The Viscount Novar of Raith	Secretary for Scotland 1924	Succeeded by: Sir John Gilmour
Preceded by: Sir John Gilmour	Secretary of State for Scotland 1929-1931	Succeeded by: Viscount Thurso

Leaders of the Labour Party
Keir Hardie, Arthur Henderson, George Nicoll Barnes, Ramsay MacDonald, Arthur Henderson, William Adamson, John Robert Clynes, Ramsay MacDonald, Arthur Henderson, George Lansbury, Clement Attlee, Hugh Gaitskell, George Alfred Brown, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, John Smith, Margaret Beckett, Tony Blair