George Balfour (Conservative politician)

George Balfour (1872 – 26 September 1941) was a British Conservative Party politician and engineer. He was of Scottish parentage where he also spent part of his upbringing but was born in Portsmouth, England. He served his long parliamentary career representing a constituency in the County of London and lived much of his life in England.

George Balfour

MP
Balfour in 1928
Born1872
Portsmouth
Died26 September 1941
NationalityBritish
OccupationEngineer
Engineering career
DisciplineMechanical engineering

Career

George Balfour joined the Blackness Foundry in Dundee as an apprentice in 1888. He subsequently qualified as a mechanical and electrical engineer.[1] In 1909, together with Andrew Beatty, an English accountant, he founded Balfour Beatty which was to become an international construction business.[1] Under his leadership the company installed a new tramway system in Dunfermline in Fife.[1] The two partners also founded Power Securities, a business established to pursue opportunities in hydro-electric power, in 1922.[1] He was vice-chairman in 1929 and chairman in 1938 of the Lancashire Electric Power Company.[2]

Political life

From 1918 to 1941, Balfour sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead.[3] He contributed to many debates on employment issues.[1]

Death

Balfour died on 26 September 1941 at which time he was still a serving MP.[1]

Honours

In 2020 he was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.[4]

References
  1. Balfour Beatty: History, as archived 18 April 2009.
  2. "Lancashire Electric Light and Power". The Times. 4 March 1938. p. 22.
  3. Senate House Library, University of London
  4. "Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame". engineeringhalloffame.org. 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
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