Lord Provost Myer Galpern (1903-1993) wearing his robe and chain of office, 1958.
Galpern was born in Glasgow in 1903, the son of a Russian immigrant. He began his political career in the Independent Labour Party (ILP) rising to become chairman of the Glasgow ILP Federation. In 1932 he was elected councillor for Shettleston and was well known at the time for his radical political beliefs. He rose through the ranks in local government politics and became Glasgow's first Jewish Lord Provost in 1958. In 1959 he entered national politics when he was elected as the Labour MP for Shettleston. He was knighted the following year.
Galpern became Deputy Speaker in the House of Commons in 1974, and in this role had to suspend the proceedings of the House during the notorious incident when Michael Heseltine seized the Mace in 1976. He was awarded a life peerage in 1979 and continued his political career in the House of Lords.
Reference: PHO.G.0011
Reproduced with the permission of the Scottish Jewish Archives Centre
Keywords:
councillors, Deputy Speakers, House of Commons, House of Lords, ILP, Independent Labour Party, Jews, Labour Party, Lord Provosts, Members of Parliament, politics, socialism, socialists
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