Dickson Mabon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jesse Dickson Mabon (born 1 November 1925) is a Scottish company director, physician and politician.

The son of Jesse Dickson Mabon and Isabel Simpson Montgomery, he was educated at Possilpark, Cumbrae, and North Kelvinside Schools.

He began worked in coal mining industry before Army service in 1944-48. He studied medicine at Glasgow University, and was a visiting physician at Manor House Hospital, London from 1958-64.

He was political columnist for the Scottish Daily Record from 1955-64, and studied under Dr Kissinger at Harvard University in 1963. He was president of the Glasgow University Union in 1951-52, of the Scottish Union of Students, 1954-55.

Mabon was unsuccessful Labour candidate for Bute and North Ayrshire in 1951, and Labour Co-operative candidate for Renfrewshire West in 1955. He was elected as Labour Co-operative member of parliament for Greenock at a by-election in December 1955, and held that seat (from 1974 Greenock and Port Glasgow) until 1983. He became a founder member of the Social Democratic Party in 1981 and from 1981 to 1983 he sat as a Social Democrat Party Member of Parliament. He unsuccessfully contested Renfrew West and Inverclyde for the SDP in 1983 after the local Liberals refused to stand their candidate down for him in his previous seat and for the SDP/Alliance in 1987, and also the Lothians seat in the European Parliament Election of 1984.

He rejoined the Labour Party in 1991, and subsequently became a member of the executive committee of Eastbourne Labour Party until 2004.

Mabon held junior ministerial office as joint Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 1964-67 and Minister of State for Scotland from 1967-70. He was Deputy Opposition Spokesman on Scotland from 1970-72, when he resigned over Labour's attitude to the Common Market. He again served as Minister of State, Department of Energy from 1976-79. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1977.

He was a Member of the Council of Europe and of the Assembly of the Western European Union, 1970-72 and 1974-76, and of the North Atlantic Assembly from 1980-82. He was Chairman of the European Movement from 1975-76 (and deputy Chairman from 1979-83), and Founder Chairman of the Manifesto Group in the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1974-76.

Mabon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Freeman of the City of London.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Hector McNeil	Member of Parliament for Greenock 1955–1974	Succeeded by (constituency abolished)
Preceded by (new constituency)	Member of Parliament for Greenock and Port Glasgow 1974–1983	Succeeded by Norman Godman