New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. World
  2. UK
16 November 2016updated 07 Sep 2021 10:19am

Returning Officer: Agnes Dollan

In March 1918, she was found guilty of holding a demonstration in George Square, Glasgow, without permission from the council.

By Stephen Brasher

Agnes Dollan stood for Labour at Dumfriesshire in 1924. In March 1918, she was found guilty, along with Jessie Ferguson and Helen Crawfurd, of holding a demonstration in George Square, Glasgow, without permission from the council, but was released with an “admonition”. The previous December, the trio had asked to be heard as a deputation of the Women’s Peace Crusade.

In December 1918, at the Partick West by-election, Dollan became the first female Labour candidate for Glasgow City Council, eventually being elected in 1922. In 1929 and 1935, she withdrew as Labour candidate in Leith and, opposing the decision of the ILP to leave Labour, formed the Scottish Socialist Party, which then reaffiliated with Labour.

Stephen Brasher

Content from our partners
Building Britain’s water security
How to solve the teaching crisis
Pitching in to support grassroots football

Give a gift subscription to the New Statesman this Christmas from just £49