Alasdair Mackenzie
Encyclopedia
Alasdair Roderick Mackenzie (3 August 1903 – 8 November 1970) was a Scottish
farmer and politician who became a Liberal
Member of Parliament
.
Mackenzie was a native of Fearn in Ross-shire
, a Gaelic speaker, and went to Broadford Junior Secondary School on the Isle of Skye. He became a farmer, and was active in the National Farmers Union
, being President of the East Ross branch for two years. He was elected to Ross-shire County Council in 1935 on which he served for twenty years; on leaving the council he was a member of the Crofters' Commission for five years.
At the 1964 general election
Mackenzie was elected, at the age of 61 and contesting his first parliamentary election, as a Liberal
for Ross and Cromarty
. He defeated the sitting National Liberal obtaining a majority of 1407 votes. He was re-elected in 1966
but defeated at the 1970 general election
. Mackenzie had been party spokesman in the Commons on Agriculture and Fisheries and posts and telecommunications. He differed from the majority of his party in opposing United Kingdom
membership of the European Economic Community
. He was the lone Liberal voting against the Labour government at the end of debate on the Common Market. He was also out of step with the mainstream party on the issue of capital punishment. He was a principal supporter of the campaign to re-instate the death penalty for the murder of police or prison officers led by Conservative MP, Duncan Sandys
in 1966 In 1970 he was appointed to the Scottish Agricultural Advisory Committee but died later that year.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
farmer and politician who became a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Mackenzie was a native of Fearn in Ross-shire
Ross-shire
Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...
, a Gaelic speaker, and went to Broadford Junior Secondary School on the Isle of Skye. He became a farmer, and was active in the National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union of Scotland
The National Farmers Union of Scotland is an organisation that promotes and protects the interests of the farming industry in Scotland. It was formed in 1913, and has approximately 10,000 members who are farmers, crofters, and others involved in Scottish agriculture.The current President is Jim...
, being President of the East Ross branch for two years. He was elected to Ross-shire County Council in 1935 on which he served for twenty years; on leaving the council he was a member of the Crofters' Commission for five years.
At the 1964 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
Mackenzie was elected, at the age of 61 and contesting his first parliamentary election, as a Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
for Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)
Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1983. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
. He defeated the sitting National Liberal obtaining a majority of 1407 votes. He was re-elected in 1966
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
but defeated at the 1970 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
. Mackenzie had been party spokesman in the Commons on Agriculture and Fisheries and posts and telecommunications. He differed from the majority of his party in opposing United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
membership of the European Economic Community
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. He was the lone Liberal voting against the Labour government at the end of debate on the Common Market. He was also out of step with the mainstream party on the issue of capital punishment. He was a principal supporter of the campaign to re-instate the death penalty for the murder of police or prison officers led by Conservative MP, Duncan Sandys
Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
in 1966 In 1970 he was appointed to the Scottish Agricultural Advisory Committee but died later that year.