John Wheatley (1869-1930) was an MP and Cabinet Minister.
Born in Ireland, Wheatley worked as a miner in his youth and then in a variety of jobs before founding a successful publishing business. During the First World War be became one of the leading figures in the Independent Labour Party. He won the Shettleston seat for the ILP in 1922 and held it until his death in 1930. He is commemorated by the John Wheatley College in Shettleston.
Wheatley's great interest was in working-class housing. In 1913 he published a pamphlet, Eight pound cottages for Glasgow citizens, which outlined a campaign for good quality public sector housing to replace city slums. Wheatley promoted the 1924 Housing Act as Minister of Health in the first Labour government, developing a partnership between political parties, local authorities and specially-appointed committees of building employees and employers, to build large numbers of new council houses at modest rents.
Reference: GC 052 BAI, no.2586
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
coal miners, colleges, council houses, First World War, housing, Housing Act 1924, ILP, Independent Labour Party, Irish, John Wheatley College, Members of Parliament, Minister of Health, MPs, publishers, Red Clydeside, slum clearance
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