Alexander Macdonald (Lib–Lab politician)

[1] Macdonald, who adopted the longer spelling of his name in the 1870s, had little formal education as a boy, but in his twenties he attended evening classes, learning Latin and Greek.

He also managed to fund attendance at winter sessions for students at Glasgow University from work as a coal miner during the summer months.

In 1855 Macdonald formed a unified Scottish coal and ironstone miners’ association [5] and the following year the organisation fought a severe cut in wages.

A product of this period of his leadership was the Mines Act of 1860, which allowed for election by miners of a checkweighman at each pit to ensure fair payment of wages.

In Parliament Macdonald tended to concentrate on trade union matters but he was also a strong supporter of Irish Home Rule.

[8] Macdonald's views had always been moderate and he chose to work for reform within the parliamentary system rather than try to change things by radical direct action.

[5] Later, some socialists, such as Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels, criticised Macdonald for his close relationship with Benjamin Disraeli and the Conservative Party.