Francis Campbell Ross Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of BarlochKCMG (21 October 1889 – 30 March 1980), was a British journalist, solicitor andLabour Party politician.
Douglas was born in Wakopa,Manitoba,Canada to a Scottish family. He was educated atGlasgow University and later became a partner in Douglas & Company, solicitors, and also worked as a journalist. A member ofBattersea Borough Council, he wasmayor of Battersea in 1922–1923.[1]
Having unsuccessfully foughtYeovil in1929, he was elected as theMember of Parliament (MP) forBattersea North at aby-election in 1940, a seat he held until1946, and served asParliamentary Private Secretary to theParliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education from 1940 to 1945 and to theHome Secretary from 1945 to 1946 (James Chuter Ede held both positions).
He was an advocate ofland-value rating and in 1936 wrote a book, revised in 1961, "to present a concise summary of the economic arguments in favour of the rating of land values".[2]
In 1946 Douglas resigned from theHouse of Commons on being appointedGovernor of Malta, which he remained until 1949. Douglas was made aKCMG in 1947 and in 1950 he was raised to the peerage asBaron Douglas of Barloch, of Maxfield in the County of Sussex.[3] He was also a member of thePublic Works Loan Board from 1936 to 1946 and of the Railway Assessment Committee from 1938 to 1946 and served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of theLondon County Council from 1940 to 1946. After being raised to the peerage he was a Deputy Speaker of theHouse of Lords.
Lord Douglas of Barloch died in March 1980, aged 90. The title became extinct on his death.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Battersea North 1940 –1946 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Finance Committee ofLondon County Council 1940–1946 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Malta 1946–1949 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Douglas of Barloch 1950–1980 | Extinct |
Civil commissioners (1799–1813) | |
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