First Labour PM ‘far from a traitor’ insists MacDonald’s granddaughter
IN her home, Iona Kielhorn is surrounded by treasured keepsakes that belonged to her late grandfather, the Scottish-born former prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald.
It was here that MacDonald would retreat from the rigours of political life. The Lossiemouth house still contains his old school books, photographs, furniture and correspondence, including some from Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi and Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw.
The rags-to-riches story of the man who rose from poor and illegitimate beginnings to become the first Labour prime minister will feature in a new three-part BBC Scotland documentary series that begins on Wednesday.
Narrated by Ken Stott, Scotland: The Promised Land examines how the landscape of the nation was shaped politically and culturally in the aftermath of the First World War, including the dilution of the class divide and the previously marginalised becoming newly enfranchised.
Alongside MacDonald, it charts the emergence of the Red Clydesiders and the remarkable tale of Jennie Lee, a charismatic miner’s daughter from Lochgelly in Fife who was elected as an MP in 1929 – despite not being allowed to vote herself.
MacDonald, a founder member of the Labour Party, famously polarised opinion in his later years – denounced as a “traitor” by his former colleagues after forming the National Government in 1931.
Yet, it is Mrs Kielhorn’s belief that her grandfather has been miscast as a villain.
“I admire him tremendously and know he suffered horribly,” she says. “I would like to straighten up some of the lies that he was a traitor and a coward.”
MacDonald spent his early childhood shunned by many in the Lossiemouth community due to his illegitimate parentage and, according to his granddaughter, was treated “worse than dirt”.
The son of John MacDonald, a farm labourer, and Anne Ramsay, a housemaid, he was known as “barefoot Donally” around the village.
“’Donally’ because his name was Donald MacDonald and ‘barefoot’ because he had no shoes – he had a very bad time,” says Mrs Kielhorn. “Illegitimate in those days was really a criminal offence against the church.”
Even then, though, there was signs that MacDonald was destined for big things. “As soon as he got to school his teachers realised ‘this boy is very clever,’” says Mrs Kielhorn. “He was exceptional. At 11 or 12 years old, he only had four years’ schooling – no Eton, Cambridge or Harrow.”
As a young man, he travelled to London and forged a reputation as a pacifist, socialist firebrand and trailblazer – catching the eye of his future wife Margaret Ethel Gladstone, a feminist and social reformer.
Her father, Doctor John Hall Gladstone, rode to Lossiemouth demanding to know who this “long-haired, gypsy fellow with a red tie” was.
The couple married and had six children, including Mrs Kielhorn’s mother Joan.
MacDonald became Prime Minister in 1924, holding office for just nine months before a vote of no confidence saw another general election called.
Labour returned to power in 1929, although the crisis of the Great Depression soon led to demands for public spending cuts in order to preserve the Gold Standard.
In recent times there has been a more sympathetic view of MacDonald as a leader who held Britain together during dark economic days – a view which Mrs Kielhorn believes is a fairer assessment.
She recounts how her grandfather submitted his resignation to King George V in 1931, but was instead persuaded to form a new government to address the financial crisis.
“I have photographs of him dressed up in his top hat and tails, going to Buckingham Palace in order to tell George V that he was resigning,” says Mrs Kielhorn.
“George V refused to accept the resignation and told him he was the only prime minister he could trust. He remained prime minister of the National Government until 1935.”
Scotland: The Promised Land is on BBC Two, Wednesday, 9pm