Aline Mackinnon

Aline Mackinnon (30 October 1899[1] – 1 January 1970) was a British radical feminist, Liberal Party politician and civil servant.

Aline Mackinnon

Early life and education

Mackinnon was born in Hadley Wood, Middlesex, the third of four daughters born to Sir Percy Graham MacKinnon[2] and Mabel Lockett.[3] She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh, where she graduated with a Master of Arts.[4]

Political career

In 1921 she attended the first Liberal Summer School.[5] She was the Honorary Parliamentary Secretary to the Women's Liberal Federation.[6] She was selected as Liberal candidate for Holderness and came second;

General Election 27 October 1931: Holderness[7] Electorate 42,734
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Samuel Servington Savery 21,560 61.7
Liberal Miss Aline Mackinnon 10,471 30.0
Labour J. L. Schulz 2,927 8.4
Majority 11,089 31.7
Turnout 34,958 81.8

She was Honorary Secretary of the Liberal Summer School.[8] She fought Holderness again in 1935, slightly reducing the Conservative majority;

General Election, 14 November 1935: Holderness[9] Electorate 57,466
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Samuel Servington Savery 22,229 53.6 -8.1
Liberal Miss Aline Mackinnon 10,348 24.9 -5.1
Labour J. L. Schulz 8,906 21.5 +13.1
Majority 11,901 28.7 -3.0
Turnout 41,503 72.2 -9.6
Conservative hold Swing -1.5

She was given another opportunity to enter Parliament at the Holderness by-election on 15 February 1939. Despite the presence of a Labour candidate, she had some public support from prominent Labour people who supported the notion of a Popular Front.[10] She had offered to withdraw if the Labour candidate withdrew in favour of an Independent Progressive candidate acceptable to both parties.

1939 Holderness by-election[11] Electorate
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Joseph Gurney Braithwaite 17,742 39.4 -14.2
Liberal Miss Aline Mackinnon 11,590 25.7 +0.8
Labour J. L. Schulz 9,629 21.3 -0.2
Independent Raleigh Chichester-Constable 6,103 13.5 n/a
Majority
Turnout

Deprived by the outbreak of war of another attempt to be elected at Holderness, she retired from elective politics but continued to be active in the national party as a member of the Liberal Party Council,[12] and for the Women's Liberal Federation, serving as Vice-President.[13] She was a civil servant from 1941 to 1947.[14] Her Women's Liberal colleague Frances Josephy described her as "very knowledgeable and a brilliant speaker with a pretty wit".[15]

A keen skier and mountaineer, she died while on vacation in Austria, aged 70.[16][17]

References
  1. 1939 England and Wales Register
  2. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
  3. 1911 England Census
  4. The Lady's Who's who, 1938
  5. F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
  6. The Times Guide to the House of Commons, 1931
  7. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
  8. The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
  9. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
  10. In the year of Munich by Roy Douglas
  11. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, Craig, F. W. S.
  12. Hull Daily Mail, 19 May 1949
  13. Surrey Mirror, 9 Dec 1949
  14. The great partnership, Women's Liberal Federation 1949
  15. F. L. J. "Aline Mackinnon." Times [London, England] 10 Jan. 1970: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
  16. "Deaths". The Times. 3 January 1970. p. 18.
  17. "Aline Mackinnon". The Times. 10 January 1970. p. 10.
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