Alexander Wilson (Scottish politician)

For other people named Alexander Wilson, see Alexander Wilson (disambiguation).

Alexander Wilson (5 June 1917 – 23 March 1978) was a Scottish Labour politician who was the MP for Hamilton from 1970 until his death.

Wilson was educated at the Forth Grammar School, before becoming a coal miner.[1] He joined the Labour Party, and served on the Third District Council of Lanarkshire for eleven years.[2] Wilson married in 1941, and had two children.[1]

Wilson's first parliamentary contest was the Hamilton by-election of 1967, in which he lost to the Scottish National Party candidate Winifred Ewing. However, Wilson was able to gain the seat from her at the 1970 general election.[2] He was sponsored by the National Union of Mineworkers and became secretary of a miners' group in parliament.[1] He was described as a moderate.[1]

Wilson held the seat until his death at Law Hospital on 23 March 1978, aged 60, following an operation.[2][3] George Robertson, the future NATO Secretary-General, was elected as his successor in the subsequent by-election.

  1. ^ a b c d "Mr Alex Wilson, MP". The Times. 25 March 1978. p. 16.
  2. ^ a b c Stenton, Michael; Lees, Stephen (1981). Who's Who of British Members of Parliament. Vol. IV. Brighton: Harvester Press. p. 403.
  3. ^ Hatfield, Michael (25 March 1978). "Second Scottish poll challenge". The Times. p. 1.