David Gibson was a Scottish

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...

 socialist politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

.

Gibson joined the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

 (ILP) and at the 1935 UK general election was its candidate in Stirling East and Clackmannan

Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire was a parliamentary constituency in the Clackmannan area of Central Scotland. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.The constituency was created for the...

. He was elected to Glasgow City Council, and he stood unsuccessfully in the Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947

Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947

The Liverpool Edge Hill by-election, 1947 was a parliamentary by-election held in England to elect a new Member of Parliament for the British House of Commons constituency of Liverpool Edge Hill on 11 September 1947...

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In 1948, Gibson succeeded Robert Edwards

Robert Edwards (politician)

Robert Edwards , usually known as Bob Edwards, was a British trade unionist and an Independent Labour Party and Labour Co-operative politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1955 to 1987....

 as chairman of the ILP. As chairman, he focussed on opposing war, and feared that the North Atlantic Treaty

North Atlantic Treaty

The North Atlantic Treaty is the treaty that brought NATO into existence, signed in Washington, D.C. on 4 April 1949. The original twelve nations that signed it and thus became the founding members of NATO were:...

 would lead to a Third World War.

Gibson was succeeded as chairman by Fred Barton

Fred Barton (politician)

Fred Barton was a British socialist politician.Barton joined the Independent Labour Party and was elected chairman of the Stretford Trades Council...

 in 1951, and focussed on his role as chair of the Glasgow Corporation's Housing sub-Committee on Sites and Buildings, working to build council housing in the city as rapidly as possible. By 1961, he was the baillie

Baillie

A baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...

 - most senior magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

 - of Glasgow and was active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...

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