John Dugdale

John Dugdale (16 March 1905 – 12 March 1963) was a British newspaper journalist and politician. Well-connected with the Labour Party establishment, he worked as Private Secretary to Clement Attlee and was appointed a Minister in his post-war government. Early career Dugdale was from an upper-class family, the only son of Ethel Innes "Outoo" (née) Sherston and Colonel Arthur Dugdale who was Commander of the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars during the First World War. He was first cousin to Door de Graaf and second cousin of Conservative MP Thomas Dugdale, who was Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1951 to 1954. He was sent to Wellington College, from where he moved to Christ Church, Oxford. On leaving Oxford, Dugdale joined the Diplomatic Service and was stationed in Peking as an Attaché in the British embassy. Journalism and politics This life did not suit him and Dugdale then went into journalism. He was a correspondent for The Times on the Yangtze River during troubles there in 1930. In the 1931 general election, Dugdale fought the constituency of Leicester South as a Labour Party candidate. In the new Parliament, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary by Clement Attlee, who had become Deputy Leader of the Labour Party largely by default of being the only former Minister to survive the election. Local government He was elected to London County Council in 1934 from Islington South. He enjoyed his time on the LCC and local government in general, becoming Vice-President of the Association of Municipal Corporations. At the 1935 general election he tried again to get into Parliament, this time for Cardiff Central, but was again defeated; he fought a byelection in York in 1937. Dugdale married Irene Haverson, granddaughter of George Lansbury, in December 1938.