The Lord McFall of Alcluith | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Lord Speaker | |
| Assumed office 1 May 2021 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Deputy | The Lord Gardiner of Kimble |
| Preceded by | The Lord Fowler |
| Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords | |
| In office 1 September 2016 – 30 April 2021 | |
| Lord Speaker | The Lord Fowler |
| Preceded by | The Lord Laming (as Chairman of Committees) |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Gardiner of Kimble |
| Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee | |
| In office 18 July 2001 – 6 May 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Giles Radice |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Tyrie |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| In office 28 July 1998 – 2 December 1999 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Preceded by | Tony Worthington |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 8 May 1997 – 28 July 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair |
| Chancellor | Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Bowen Wells |
| Succeeded by | Jane Kennedy |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 6 July 2010 Life peerage | |
| Member of Parliament forWest Dunbartonshire Dumbarton (1987–2005) | |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 12 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Ian Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Gemma Doyle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1944-10-04)4 October 1944 (age 81) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Political party | None |
| Other political affiliations |
|
| Spouse | Joan Ward |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | |
John Francis McFall, Baron McFall of AlcluithPC (born 4 October 1944), is aScottish politician andlife peer who has served asLord Speaker, thepresiding officer of theHouse of Lords, since 2021. He was amember of Parliament for theLabour and Co-operative Party from 1987 to 2010, first forDumbarton and then from 2005 forWest Dunbartonshire. He also served as Chairman of theHouse of Commons Treasury Committee. Following his appointment to theHouse of Lords, McFall served asSenior Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2021 before succeedingLord Fowler as Lord Speaker.
McFall went to a boys' school, St Patrick's Secondary School (since merged with Notre Dame High School to formOur Lady & St Patrick's High School), on Hawthornhill Road inCastlehill, Dumbarton, leaving without any qualifications at 15. His father was a school caretaker and his mother had a newsagents shop, which sparked his (later) interest in how to run businesses. He worked for the local Parks Department in Dumbarton and then in a factory.
At the age of 24, he studied at Paisley College of Technology (now theUniversity of the West of Scotland) receiving a BSc in chemistry. In 1977, he wanted to widen his knowledge away from science and obtained a BA from theOpen University in education and philosophy. He was a chemistry and maths teacher from 1974 to 1987 inDumbarton,Kirkintilloch andGlasgow, becoming a deputy-head in Glasgow and secretary of hisConstituency Labour Party before he entered Parliament. Whilst a teacher he completed a part-time course over three years at theUniversity of Strathclyde for an MBA. In 1994, he became a visiting professor atStrathclyde University Business School, and now is a member of the Strategic Advisory Board at the University of Glasgow Business School. He is a member of theGMB Union.
He was first elected for theDumbarton constituency,Scotland, at the1987 general election, after the previous MP,Ian Campbell retired. His original majority was a little over 2,000. Dumbarton constituency was replaced with the newWest Dunbartonshire constituency for the2005 general election, which McFall won with a majority over 12,500.
In 1995 he introduced aprivate member's bill, theWild Mammals (Protection) Bill which, although unsuccessful, informed theHunting Act 2004 outlawing the hunting of mammals by dogs in England and Wales.[1]
He was awhip and junior minister (for Education, Training and Employment, Health and Community Relations, then in 1999 for Economy and Education) at theNorthern Ireland Office from 1998 to 1999.
In 2001 he was appointed Chair of theTreasury Select Committee, and reappointed for a second term in this position in 2005. The committee conducted inquiries into the banking crisis, producing evidence of thebonus culture, the lack of banking qualifications among many top bankers and poor oversight of the industry by theFinancial Services Authority.
On 29 January 2010, McFall announced his intention to stand down as an MP at the2010 general election.[2]
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On 17 June 2010, he was created alife peer asBaron McFall ofAlcluith,of Dumbarton inDunbartonshire,[3] and wasintroduced in theHouse of Lords on 6 July 2010.[4]
He was the Vice-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development (Apgood).[5]
In July 2016, he was appointed asChairman of Committees of theHouse of Lords with effect from 1 September 2016. He was known as Senior Deputy Speaker while holding the office.[6]
In the2021 Lord Speaker election, McFall was elected asLord Speaker, succeedingLord Fowler.[7]
In 2023 he suggested the House of Lords needs more independent, expert peers. Lord McFall stated he was making no direct criticism of recent peerage choices, but the upper house was in danger of becoming "out of sync" with its balance of legislators. McFall planned to meetRishi Sunak to lift a cap limiting the number of new, non-party expert peers that can be created by theHouse of Lords Appointments Commission, currently set at a maximum of two a year.[8]
In October 2025, he resigned as Lord Speaker with effect from 2 February 2026.[9]
He was Chair of the Scotch Whisky and SpiritsAll-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and of the Royal Navy APPG.
He was Chairman of Strathleven Regeneration Company and of Clydebank re-built, two development companies based in his constituency.
He gave his backing to Dumpster Kids, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at rescuing abandoned children, in January 2011.
Since 2023, he routinely hosts the House of Lords themed podcast Lord Speaker's Corner, which features him discussing peership and other political topics with fellow Lords in Parliament.[10]
McFall's family lived inBellsmyre, Dumbarton, where he met and married Joan Ward. They have three sons and a daughter.[11]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDumbarton 1987–2005 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forWest Dunbartonshire 2005–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Chairman of Committees | Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords 2016–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Speaker 2021–present | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence in England and Wales | ||
| Preceded byasSpeaker of the House of Commons | Gentlemen as Lord Speaker | Succeeded byasPresident of the Supreme Court |
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| National | |
| People | |
