Ian McColl (journalist)

Ian McColl CBE (22 February 1915 – 21 June 2005), was a Scottish journalist, editor and Liberal Party politician.

Background

He was the eldest son of John McColl and Sarah Isabella (aka Morag) McPherson, of Glasgow and Bunessan, Isle of Mull. He was educated at Hillhead High School, Glasgow. He married, in 1968, Brenda McKean. They had one daughter. He served during the war, with the Royal Air Force, 1940–46 (despatches, 1945). He was with Air Crew, Coastal Command 202 Squadron.[1][2]

Political career

In 1931 he joined the Liberal Party at the age of 16. In 1933 he was elected to the executive of the Scottish Liberal Federation. In 1938 he became Honorary Secretary of the Scottish Liberal Federation.[3] McColl twice stood as a Liberal party candidate for the United Kingdom Parliament; in the 1945 General Election at Dumfriesshire finishing third

General Election 1945[4] Electorate 47,983
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Niall Malcolm Stewart Macpherson 16,465 47.4
Labour D Dunwoodie 12,388 35.7
Liberal Fl-Off. Ian McColl 5,850 16.9
Majority 4,077 11.7
Turnout 72.3
National Liberal hold Swing

and at the 1950 General Election at Greenock coming second.

General Election 1950 Electorate 48,792
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hector McNeil 20,548 50.6
Liberal Ian McColl 11,638 28.7
Independent Labour J. S. Thomson 6,458 15.9
Communist John Ross Campbell 1,228 3.0
Irish Anti-Partitionist O. Brown 718 1.8
Majority 8,910 21.9
Turnout 83.2
Labour win

Media career

He joined the Scottish Daily Express as a cub reporter in 1933. He was Editor of the Scottish Daily Express from 1961 to 1971. He was Editor of the Daily Express from 1971 to 1974.[5] He was a Director of Express Newspapers Ltd, from 1971 to 1982. He was Chairman of Scottish Express Newspapers Ltd, from 1975 to 1982. He was a Member of the Press Council from 1975 to 1978. He was a Vice-President of the Newspaper Press Fund from 1981 to 2005. He was Chairman of the Media Division for the 1986 Commonwealth Games, Scotland from 1983 to 1986. He was honoured with the Bank of Scotland, Scottish Press Life Achievement Award, in 1993.

He was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1983.

Media offices
Preceded by Editor of The Daily Express
1971 - October 1974 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ ‘McCOLL, Ian’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 2012 accessed 29 Nov 2013
  2. ^ "Login: MULL FAMILIES".
  3. ^ The Times House of Commons, 1950
  4. ^ "United Kingdom General Election results since 1832". Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Editors of the Daily Express". Daily Drone. Retrieved 18 May 2012.