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Westminster: First Catholic Lords Speaker elected


Lord McFall of Alcluith. image: Roger Harris/Wikimedia Commons

Lord McFall of Alcluith. image: Roger Harris/Wikimedia Commons

Source: Wikipedia/House of Lords

Lord McFall of Alcluith has been elected as the new Speaker of the House of Lords - becoming the first Catholic to take up the role.

A former Labour and Co-operative MP in Dunbartonshire from 1987 to 2010, Lord McFall first joined the House of Lords in 2010 and served as Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords since 2016.

Born John Francis McFall, in Dumbarton in 1944, his father was a school caretaker and his mother had a newsagent shop. He attended St Patrick's secondary school, leaving at the age of 15 without any qualifications. He later caught up with his education attending Paisley College of Technology (now the University of West Scotland) and become a maths and chemistry teacher. Entering politics he later went on to serve as a junior minister before becoming chair of the Commons Treasury committee in 2001.

Among the organisations he supports is 'Dumpster Kids' a not for profit NGO which rescues abandoned children.

Lord McFall said he wants the Lords to be "a vibrant, outward-facing legislature that reaches out as widely as possible across all parts of the United Kingdom."

After his election he said: "I am humbled to have been chosen by my colleagues to serve as the next Lord Speaker and I am honoured to be taking over the reins from Lord Fowler, who has achieved so much during his term of office."

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