Ishbel MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Ishbel Allan MacDonald was the daughter of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, Ramsay MacDonald
and his wife Margaret MacDonald née Gladstone. Margaret's death in 1911 - a year after their son David had died - left Ramsay a single father to his remaining five children. When, in 1924 he came to power as Prime Minister of the country's first Labour Government, it was Ishbel, as the eldest daughter, who her father decided should be his hostess at 10 Downing Street. At just 20 she became the youngest person ever to take on the role.
With his meagre earnings and poor background Ramsay MacDonald knew he would be unable to repeat the Downing Street lifestyle that previous premiers had been wealthy enough to enjoy. His first term of office lasted only ten months but during that time Ishbel did everything possible to save her father money, cutting back on the cost of heating, food, transport and servants which at the time were expected to be paid out of a Prime Minister's own pocket.
Ishbel imagined that her role would be purely temporary and that when her father's minority government fell she would return to the simple life she had known. In fact she never left her father's side, acting as his official hostess through his three terms of office and his years in opposition until he died in 1937. She became one of the most popular women in Britain,and was constantly in the public eye.
In 1931 Ishbel was elected to the London County Council
as Labour Party
member for Bow and Bromley. Unlike her father she did not join National Labour; however, as she remained hostess at 10 Downing Street the Labour Group decided in November 1931 that she was ineligible to receive the Labour whip. She then sat as an 'Independent Socialist' on the council.
After her father retired as Prime Minister for the last time in 1935 she bought a country pub (The Old Plow, at Speen
near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) and ran it for 17 years. Ishbel married and was widowed twice. Her first marriage was to Norman Ridgley in 1938. He died in 1950. Her second was to James Peterkin in 1953. He died just three years later. She had no children and from then on chose to live the rest of her life in the family home in Lossiemouth, NE Scotland, where her father had been born. She died there in 1982 aged 79.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
and his wife Margaret MacDonald née Gladstone. Margaret's death in 1911 - a year after their son David had died - left Ramsay a single father to his remaining five children. When, in 1924 he came to power as Prime Minister of the country's first Labour Government, it was Ishbel, as the eldest daughter, who her father decided should be his hostess at 10 Downing Street. At just 20 she became the youngest person ever to take on the role.
With his meagre earnings and poor background Ramsay MacDonald knew he would be unable to repeat the Downing Street lifestyle that previous premiers had been wealthy enough to enjoy. His first term of office lasted only ten months but during that time Ishbel did everything possible to save her father money, cutting back on the cost of heating, food, transport and servants which at the time were expected to be paid out of a Prime Minister's own pocket.
Ishbel imagined that her role would be purely temporary and that when her father's minority government fell she would return to the simple life she had known. In fact she never left her father's side, acting as his official hostess through his three terms of office and his years in opposition until he died in 1937. She became one of the most popular women in Britain,and was constantly in the public eye.
In 1931 Ishbel was elected to the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
as Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
member for Bow and Bromley. Unlike her father she did not join National Labour; however, as she remained hostess at 10 Downing Street the Labour Group decided in November 1931 that she was ineligible to receive the Labour whip. She then sat as an 'Independent Socialist' on the council.
After her father retired as Prime Minister for the last time in 1935 she bought a country pub (The Old Plow, at Speen
Speen
Speen is the name of more than one place.In the United Kingdom:*Speen, Buckinghamshire*Speen, BerkshireSpeen also is a Lastname in Germany...
near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire) and ran it for 17 years. Ishbel married and was widowed twice. Her first marriage was to Norman Ridgley in 1938. He died in 1950. Her second was to James Peterkin in 1953. He died just three years later. She had no children and from then on chose to live the rest of her life in the family home in Lossiemouth, NE Scotland, where her father had been born. She died there in 1982 aged 79.