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Alice Mahon (née Bottomley; 28 September 1937 – 25 December 2022) was a British trade unionist and Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Halifax from 1987 until 2005.

Key Information

Mahon was a left-winger who was a member of the Socialist Campaign Group and was a Eurosceptic, and a frequent rebel against Labour's Blair government. She left the House of Commons in 2005 and resigned from the Labour Party in 2009, expressing objections to the party's political positions and internal operations. However, she rejoined the party in 2015 in support of Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader.

Early life and career

[edit]

Born Alice Bottomley[1] in Buttershaw, Bradford, she attended grammar school in Halifax and worked in the National Health Service as a nursing auxiliary for ten years.[2] In 1979, she gained a BA in Social Policy from the University of Bradford and taught Trade Union Studies at Bradford College from 1979 to 1987.[3] Meanwhile, she was a councillor on Calderdale Council.

Parliamentary career

[edit]

Mahon was first elected for the Halifax constituency at the 1987 general election. In 1994, commenting on Tony Blair, Mahon told Chris Mullin that she was "in the Stop Blair camp" of the party.[4]

Mahon opposed the missile defence plans during her period in the House of Commons and sought to protect benefits for parents, women's rights (particularly regarding abortion), and gay rights. Mahon was also a supporter of reform of the House of Lords.[5] She was opposed to the Iraq War, speaking in 2004 of the "cruel barbarism that has been inflicted upon Iraq".[6] She told the 2003 Labour Party Conference, "we were lied to about WMD and there is no delicate way of putting it".[7]

In a July 2003 Commons debate, she queried the support of John Reid, then the Secretary of State for Health for Foundation Hospitals: "How can the Secretary of State stand there as a Scottish MP who is not going to have one of these divisive hospitals, and yet is voting to inflict them on the people of Halifax?" In a version of Tam Dalyell's West Lothian question, the government in the subsequent parliamentary division would have lost the vote without the support of Scottish and Welsh Labour MPs.[8] Labour's majority of 164 was reduced to 17 because of votes against the motion and abstentions.[9] "As English MPs, we have to settle this question of Scots and Welsh MPs voting for things they're not going to have", Mahon said at the time.[8]

Later life

[edit]

Fallujah

[edit]

In November 2005, a film documentary by Sigfrido Ranucci of Italy's Rai News 24, The Hidden Massacre, asserted that the US military had used white phosphorus (WP) as an incendiary weapon, including against civilians in the Second Battle of Fallujah.[10] The RAI documentary also quoted a 13 June 2005 UK MOD letter[11] to Mahon, stating that:

The US destroyed its remaining stock of Vietnam era napalm in 2001 but, according to the reports for 1 Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) serving in Iraq in 2003, they used a total of 30 MK 77 weapons in Iraq between 31 March and 2 April 2003, against military targets away from civilian areas. The MK 77 firebomb does not have the same composition as napalm, although it has similar destructive characteristics. The Pentagon has also told us that owing to the limited accuracy of the MK 77, it is not generally used in urban terrain or in areas where civilians are congregated.

Slobodan Milošević

[edit]

Mahon was a defence witness in the trial of Slobodan Milošević in 2006. Following the testimony of Slobodan Jarčević, foreign minister of the self-declared Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in modern-day Croatia, from October 1992 until becoming foreign policy advisor to the RSK president Milan Martić in April 1994, Milošević called Mahon, who was an MP throughout the 1990s and sat on the NATO parliamentary committee from 1992.

In 1999, she said:[12]

Having visited Yugoslavia, I feel as strongly about the innocent civilian victims of laser-guided bombs as I do about victims of ethnic cleansing and the Albanian refugees who must have the right to return home in safety.

Račak

[edit]

Mahon appeared to be critical of the generally accepted narrative of the Račak massacre.

She spoke at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia on 1 March 2006 and stated under examination:[13] "Yes, I think there is something highly suspicious about what happened at Racak." Judge Robinson responded, "But to say that Mr. Walker arranged it, that's a very serious --" which Mahon interjected to say, "Well, would you like me to say that I think Mr. Walker just happened to be there, and people disagreed with him profoundly about that being a massacre."[13]

Macular degeneration

[edit]

Mahon suffered from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease which causes progressive blindness. Mahon lost most of the sight in one eye and expected to lose sight in the other. Calderdale Primary Care Trust refused to fund a drug which could stabilise or improve her condition, in 2007 she threatened to take the PCT to the High Court.[14]

Resignation from the Labour Party

[edit]

Mahon resigned her membership of the Labour Party in April 2009, saying she could no longer condone how it operates. She told BBC News that she had considered resigning in 2005, having "totally disapproved of everything Tony Blair was doing", but had been more optimistic of his eventual successor, Gordon Brown: "I hoped we might go back to being a caring and progressive party. In the event I couldn't have been more wrong".[5] She had backed John McDonnell's aborted Labour leadership campaign.[15]

In her letter to the Halifax Constituency Labour Party, she wrote: "This Labour Government should hang its head in shame for inflicting [the Welfare Reform Bill] on the British public just as we face the most severe recession any of us have experienced in a lifetime." The Bill was criticised by a number of disability campaign groups[16] and Labour MPs[17] for not helping the disabled or unemployed. Mahon said she was dismayed at the impotence shown by the government in tackling energy providers and financial institutions. She also condemned the failure of the party to stick to its election manifesto, including pledges not to privatise the Royal Mail and to give the country a referendum on the EU Constitution (which later became the Lisbon Treaty).[5] The smear tactics attempted by Brown's by then former official Damian McBride and lobbyist Derek Draper, which became known around this time, were also a factor in her decision to leave the Labour Party.[18] She told The Yorkshire Post:

My stepdaughter Rachel said to me: 'How could they do that to people like David Cameron and his wife Samantha when they had recently lost their son Ivan? What kind of people think it would be a good idea to smear them?' I was sickened by that – that is not the Labour Party that I joined all those years ago. [...] Quite simply I have had it with New Labour.[19]

Mahon remained active in left-wing politics, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Stop the War Coalition, of which she was a patron.[20] She was a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK, and an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. The No2EU campaign said she had decided to support them in the June 2009 European Parliament election.[21][22][23]

Mahon was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament's oral history project.[24]

She re-joined Labour in 2015 following the election of Jeremy Corbyn as party leader.[25]

Personal life

[edit]

Mahon was married to John Gledhill until the couple divorced in 1972.[3] She then married Tony Mahon, and they remained together until his death in January 2022.[2] She had two sons from her first marriage and a stepdaughter from her second.[3] She was a longtime resident of Northowram, West Yorkshire.[2]

Mahon died at a care home in Halifax on 25 December 2022, at the age of 85.[2] A remembrance service was held at Halifax Minster on 6 March 2023, and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was in attendance.[26]

References

[edit]
[edit]
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Alice Mahon

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from Grokipedia
Alice Mahon (28 September 1937 – 25 December 2022) was a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who represented Halifax as a from 1987 to 2005. A former nurse and NUPE shop steward, she was a prominent member of the , advocating for socialist policies, , and opposition to military interventions including the , actions in the , and the . Mahon resigned from the Labour Party in 2009, citing its departure from core principles and undemocratic internal practices under Tony Blair's leadership. Her death from was attributed to exposure during her nursing career, prompting calls for improved workplace safety measures.

Early life and education

Upbringing and family background

Alice Mahon was born Alice Bottomley on 28 1937 in Buttershaw, a suburb of , . She was the younger of two daughters born to Thomas Bottomley, a bus driver and mechanic, and Edna Bottomley (née unknown), a mill worker originally raised on a farm in . Her parents, both manual laborers in a working-class household, held strong Labour Party sympathies, instilling in their children values aligned with trade unionism and socialist principles amid the industrial backdrop of . Mahon's family relocated to Halifax during her early years, where she grew up immersed in the town's textile-dominated, proletarian culture, which she later described with pride for its resilient working-class heritage. She attended a in Halifax, reflecting modest within her family's circumstances, though specific details of her childhood experiences beyond this remain sparsely documented in primary accounts. Her upbringing in this environment of economic hardship and shaped her lifelong commitment to leftist causes, though she avoided romanticizing , focusing instead on empirical for workers' rights derived from familial observations of labor exploitation.

Nursing training and early career

Mahon undertook nursing training for two years but left before completing her qualifications due to with her first child. She subsequently worked as a auxiliary in the for ten years at Northowram Hospital near Halifax. In this role, she became active in trade unionism, acting as a shop steward for the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE).

Political activism before Parliament

Trade union involvement

Mahon's trade union activism began during her tenure as a nursing auxiliary in the , where she joined the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) in 1972 and served as a shop steward. In this role, she campaigned for equal pay for women workers and contributed to the establishment of NUPE's National Women's Committee, addressing gender-specific issues within employment. Her efforts in NUPE extended to broader organizing, reflecting a commitment to improving conditions for low-paid public employees, particularly in healthcare. This involvement propelled Mahon into a position as a official in the mid-1970s, where she advocated for workers' rights amid economic challenges of the era, including industrial disputes in the . By 1979, following her BA in from the , she transitioned to teaching Trade Union Studies at Bradford College, a role she held until 1987, educating future activists on , negotiation tactics, and principles. Her pedagogical work emphasized practical empowerment for union members, drawing from her firsthand experience in NUPE to foster grassroots engagement in Halifax's industrial community.

Labour Party engagement and candidacy

Mahon joined the Labour Party at age 20 in 1957, becoming active in its Young Socialists youth wing. She maintained long-term membership, serving as a steward and district officer while building local political experience. Prior to national candidacy, Mahon was elected as a Labour councillor in , the metropolitan borough encompassing Halifax, where she focused on constituency-level issues. In 1985, despite initial ambitions limited to local politics, she was urged by senior Labour figures including and to pursue selection for the Halifax parliamentary seat, then a marginal constituency held by the Conservatives. Mahon secured the Labour nomination amid competition, with her gender noted as a point of contention during the process, both from opponents and within party circles. She campaigned on local representation and socialist principles, winning the seat in the 1987 general election by a majority of 1,327 votes over the incumbent Conservative. This victory marked her entry into Parliament as one of Labour's new intake, reflecting the party's efforts to select working-class candidates in northern industrial areas.

Parliamentary career

Election to Parliament and representation of Halifax

Alice Mahon was elected for Halifax at the on 11 June 1987, defeating the incumbent Conservative MP Roy Galley and gaining the seat for Labour. She defended the constituency successfully in the subsequent s of 9 April 1992, 1 May 1997, and 7 June 2001, benefiting from Labour's national landslide victories in 1997 and 2001 that bolstered her majorities. In the 2001 election, Mahon polled 19,800 votes for Labour. She chose not to stand again in the 2005 , ending her parliamentary service after 18 years. As MP for Halifax, a constituency characterized by its industrial history in textiles and engineering amid economic challenges from , Mahon prioritized advocacy for working-class constituents on , healthcare, and social welfare issues. Drawing from her background as a nurse and trade unionist, she campaigned vigorously for improved local NHS services and protections for manufacturing jobs threatened by globalization and factory closures. Her representation included active intervention in community matters, such as opposing the appointment of a councillor to a local race equality committee in , reflecting her commitment to combating far-right influence in areas of socioeconomic deprivation. Mahon was described by contemporaries and successors as having fought tirelessly for Halifax residents, earning tributes for her assiduous constituency work and socialist principles that aligned with the town's traditions. Her tenure saw her balance national party rebellions with local priorities, maintaining strong voter support in a that she helped solidify for Labour.

Domestic policy record and rebellions

Mahon consistently opposed New Labour's domestic reforms that introduced market mechanisms into public services, reflecting her trade union background and affiliation with the Socialist Campaign Group. As a former nurse and NUPE (later Unison) activist, she criticized initiatives perceived as steps toward privatization, including the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the NHS and public sector infrastructure. She argued these schemes increased long-term costs and undermined public control, voting against relevant government measures where possible. On NHS reorganization, Mahon was a prominent rebel against foundation hospitals, which granted select trusts greater financial autonomy, borrowing powers, and freedom from national pay scales—features she and other left-wing MPs viewed as fostering inequality and two-tier care. She voted against the principle of foundation trusts in May 2003 alongside 65 Labour MPs, and supported Frank Dobson's amendment to block their implementation in July 2003, contributing to the government's reduced majority of 35. Overall, she cast five votes against introducing foundation hospitals in 2003, bucking the party each time. In , Mahon opposed the shift toward higher student contributions, consistently voting against university tuition fees across two key divisions between 1997 and 2004. She rebelled during the 2004 Higher Education Bill debates, which enabled variable top-up fees up to £3,000 annually, aligning with 72 Labour MPs who defied the government on third reading to pass the measure by a slim five-vote margin. Her stance stemmed from concerns over access barriers for working-class students, echoing traditional Labour commitments to . These positions marked Mahon as one of Labour's most reliable domestic rebels under , with her votes contributing to broader backbench discontent over the perceived dilution of socialist principles in favor of fiscal prudence and efficiency drives. While supportive of core welfare expansions like the , her rebellions focused on resisting what she termed "creeping " in and .

Committee work and legislative initiatives

Mahon served on the Health Select Committee from 31 October 1991 to 21 March 1997, contributing to inquiries on policy, including a 1994 report criticizing the inadequate funding and implementation of community care for mentally ill patients, which left many isolated and destitute. She held the position of vice-chair on Labour's backbench health committee, advocating for improvements in healthcare delivery and awareness of conditions like . From 1992 to 2005, she represented the as a delegate to the , participating in discussions on transatlantic security and defense matters. Mahon introduced multiple private member's bills addressing health and compensation concerns, though none progressed beyond early stages amid the challenges faced by such legislation. On 3 March 1989, she presented the Citizens' Compensation Bill, intended to simplify claims processes for individuals injured without fault, covering benefits like sickness and invalidity payments arising from accidents. On 29 June 1994, she introduced a bill to regulate the diet industry, requiring controls on weight loss medicines, potions, and patches, alongside mandatory warnings on rapid weight loss risks in slimming centers, books, and related products. In her final parliamentary session, Mahon presented the Sleep Apnoea Bill on 10 February 2004, supported by MPs including Tam Dalyell and Ann Cryer, to establish provisions for better diagnosis, clinical review, and management of sleep apnoea and associated conditions; it received its first reading and was set for second reading on 27 April 2004. She also sat on the public bill committee for the Female Genital Mutilation Bill, attending its single sitting.

Foreign policy stances and controversies

Opposition to Gulf Wars and Iraq invasion

Mahon opposed military intervention in the First Gulf War of 1990–1991, aligning with anti-war campaigns organized by groups such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Although not yet a member of Parliament—having been elected in 1997—she contributed to early parliamentary resistance efforts, including support for Early Day Motions against the war, which garnered significant cross-party backing with 83 signatures. Her stance reflected broader socialist principles emphasizing diplomacy over escalation, as later articulated in her critiques of similar conflicts. Turning to the 2003 Iraq invasion, Mahon emerged as one of the most outspoken Labour rebels against Tony Blair's policy. As early as March 2002, she voiced "deep unease" about the direction toward , warning of insufficient evidence for claims of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, she co-founded Iraq Liaison, a group aimed at mobilizing opposition to military action and promoting alternatives like strengthened UN inspections. She actively participated in events and helped establish Labour Against the War to rally party dissenters, including figures like and . Parliamentary records show Mahon consistently voted against government motions authorizing force in , defying the whip on at least two key divisions between 2002 and 2003, in contrast to the majority of Labour MPs who supported them. In January 2003, she publicly accused the government of "dishonesty and cowardice" for evading a full vote on the invasion and relying on flawed intelligence. On March 12, 2003, days before the invasion, she co-hosted a meeting titled "Iraq: Can the War Be Averted?" with MP Mohammad Sarwar and the , urging de-escalation. Post-invasion, she maintained that the war's justification rested on "an untruth" regarding Saddam Hussein's capabilities, reinforcing her pre-war skepticism.

Skepticism on Kosovo events including Račak

Mahon expressed skepticism regarding the justifications for 's 1999 intervention in , arguing that claims of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe were exaggerated to support the bombing campaign. In testimony before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former (ICTY) on March 1, 2006, as a defense witness in Slobodan Milošević's , she recounted visiting the -Macedonia border three weeks prior to the NATO airstrikes in March 1999, where she observed relative calm and no evidence of mass Albanian displacement or impending . She contended that the bombing itself precipitated the large-scale exodus of , reversing earlier stability, and dismissed pre-intervention figures—such as 200,000 to 300,000 displaced—as inflated, later revised downward by Western officials from initial estimates of 100,000 deaths to around 10,000. Central to her doubts was the on January 15, 1999, where 45 were reported killed, an event pivotal in triggering NATO's escalation. Mahon described "something highly suspicious about what happened at Racak," citing forensic discrepancies, discussions within the Committee for Peace in the (of which she was a member), and suggestions that U.S. Kosovo Verification Mission head William Walker may have orchestrated the scene to provoke intervention. She referenced a portraying Račak as a firefight involving (KLA) combatants rather than a deliberate civilian massacre, and noted widespread contemporary disputes over the event's characterization, including ignored evidence of KLA involvement in staging. Mahon maintained these views aligned with her broader critique of NATO's actions as politically motivated and unlawful, planned since mid-1998, rather than a response to verified atrocities. Her position extended to highlighting asymmetries in reporting, such as the underemphasis on of Serbs, Roma, and others post-intervention, which she raised in parliamentary debates. Mahon, who had visited amid the conflict, opposed the airstrikes publicly as a Labour MP, viewing them as exacerbating rather than resolving tensions, consistent with her involvement in anti-war groups questioning Western narratives. These stances positioned her as a minority voice in British politics, where mainstream support for prevailed, though she attributed discrepancies to selective media and governmental emphasis on Albanian victims while downplaying Serbian perspectives. In 2006, following her retirement from , Alice Mahon testified as a defense witness for at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former (ICTY) on March 1. Drawing from her experiences as a Labour MP (1987–2005), founder and chair of the Committee for Peace in the Balkans (established 1993 to oppose intervention), and member of the Parliamentary Assembly's Civilian Affairs Committee (1992–2005), she visited multiple sites in the former , including , , and bombed areas during the 1999 campaign such as , Pancevo, and . Mahon characterized the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia as illegal under the UN and charters, "purely political," and deliberately aimed at civilian targets, including factories, bridges, and infrastructure, which she observed firsthand caused significant civilian harm without improving conditions for . She argued the campaign, planned by mid-1998 before the January 1999 , provoked the mass exodus of —estimated at hundreds of thousands—primarily through fear of the bombings themselves, alongside (KLA) intimidation and some paramilitary actions, rather than systematic Serbian . Prior to the bombing, she met OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) monitors in Macedonia, who reported stabilizing conditions and recommended more staff over action; she suspected CIA infiltration of the KVM, citing a Sunday Times report from March 12, 2000. She critiqued the Rambouillet accords as an unacceptable ultimatum demanding troop access across , infringing on sovereignty, and noted the Serbian counter-proposal aligned closely with the draft except for rejecting the military annex. On the KLA, Mahon described it as a terrorist —initially U.S.-designated and involved in drug trafficking and minority harassment—later allied with ; she met KLA leader Hashim Thaçi in 1999 and found him hostile toward non-Albanians. Regarding Račak, where 45 Albanians died, she questioned KVM head William Walker's massacre claims, suggesting possible staging based on committee discussions and Walker's prior Contra affiliations in , implying politicized reporting. While acknowledging Milošević's historical flaws, Mahon portrayed his policies as efforts to preserve Yugoslavia's unity amid its dissolution, contrasting this with Western that demonized Serbs and overlooked Croatian and Bosnian actions, such as mass graves in she viewed during a 2003 ICTY visit. She highlighted post-bombing of Serbs and Roma from , quoting journalist : "We stopped one lot of and we're now witnessing another." In earlier parliamentary statements, such as a , 2001, debate, she clarified she was "no supporter of Milosevic" but emphasized his electoral legitimacy and criticized uneven Western handling of the conflicts. Mahon was among 11 Labour MPs who voted against authorizing the bombing of in 1999. Her testimony suggested the ICTY itself bore political motivations, urging scrutiny of actions akin to that applied to Yugoslav forces.

Critique of Fallujah operations and departure from anti-war groups

In late 2004, amid the Second Battle of Fallujah (November 7–December 23, 2004), which resulted in an estimated 800–1,200 insurgent deaths and significant civilian displacement, Alice Mahon criticized the US-led coalition's tactics as disproportionate and potentially involving prohibited weapons. She highlighted reports of white phosphorus munitions—used for illumination and smoke but also capable of causing severe burns—being deployed against combatants and possibly civilians, drawing parallels to chemical warfare effects. On December 13, 2004, Mahon tabled parliamentary questions to the UK Secretary of State for Defence, inquiring whether "napalm or a similar substance" had been used by British or forces in , and specifically whether white phosphorus or equivalent incendiary agents had been employed, citing eyewitness accounts of incendiary attacks producing white smoke and burns consistent with such munitions. The confirmed British forces had not used white phosphorus offensively but acknowledged usage, while denying violations of ; Mahon contended this obscured accountability for civilian harm, as documented in Italian RAI television's investigative report Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre (aired November 2005), which featured forensic evidence of mutated corpses and phosphorus residue. Mahon's scrutiny extended to the humanitarian aftermath, where up to 300,000 residents were displaced and access restricted, exacerbating disease and reconstruction delays. On March 14, , she introduced 921, signed by 13 MPs, calling for the safe return of Fallujah's residents, unhindered , and an independent inquiry into alleged atrocities, emphasizing that military necessity did not justify under protocols. In a , , interview on Democracy Now!, Mahon endorsed the RAI findings, rejecting US claims that white phosphorus was merely a screening agent and arguing its incendiary impact on flesh mirrored banned substances, regardless of technical classifications under the ; she urged parliamentary recall to debate these operations, viewing them as emblematic of unchecked imperial overreach in . Mahon's insistence on probing Fallujah—contrasting with broader anti-war focus on the 2003 invasion—highlighted tensions within left-leaning circles, where some prioritized domestic opposition to over granular critiques of coalition conduct; however, she maintained affiliations with groups like the , serving as vice-president without recorded formal departure tied to this issue.

Post-parliamentary life

Resignation from the Labour Party

Alice Mahon resigned her membership in the Labour Party on 18 April 2009, after more than 50 years of affiliation, stating that she had "lost faith" in the organization. In her announcement, she accused the party of betraying the socialist principles that had drawn her to join as a teenager in the late , describing it as having become "undemocratic" under Gordon Brown's leadership. Mahon emphasized that the decision stemmed from a culmination of disillusionments, including the party's failure to honor commitments from its 2005 general election manifesto on issues such as public services and . A key trigger for her resignation was the emerging scandal involving Labour aides, notably , who had been orchestrating smear campaigns against opposition figures through leaked emails targeting personal lives of Conservative politicians. Mahon cited this "dirty tricks" episode as emblematic of the ethical decline she perceived in the party, which she viewed as incompatible with its founding values. She had contemplated leaving as early as 2005 upon retiring from Parliament but delayed in hope that Brown's premiership—following Tony Blair's tenure—would restore direction; by 2009, she concluded it had not. Mahon's exit drew attention amid Labour's internal strife and declining popularity ahead of the 2010 election, with some observers noting it as a symbolic rebuke from the party's traditional left wing against New Labour's centrist shift. She did not join another political party at the time and framed her departure as a principled stand rather than a partisan move.

Continued advocacy on peace and women's issues

After retiring from Parliament in 2005, Mahon maintained her engagement in peace advocacy through affiliations with organizations such as the (CND) and the , where she remained recognized as a lifelong anti-war campaigner opposing military interventions and . Her internationalist outlook extended to support for and various liberation movements, consistent with her earlier parliamentary stances but continuing informally post-retirement. On women's issues, Mahon served as vice-president of the of Women (NAW), a socialist feminist group focused on advancing equality, reproductive rights, and opposition to gender-based , holding the role until her death on 25 December 2022. Through NAW, she contributed to campaigns defending women's social and economic rights, drawing on her prior experience as a trade unionist and feminist advocate who had faced harassment from anti-abortion groups during her electoral career. Her work intersected peace and women's advocacy, emphasizing how disproportionately affected women and children in conflict zones, though specific post-parliamentary initiatives were often channeled through these networks rather than high-profile public actions.

Health, death, and legacy

Macular degeneration and other health challenges

In November 2006, Mahon was diagnosed with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at Calderdale Royal Hospital, having already lost most of the vision in one eye and facing imminent loss in the other without intervention. The condition, which affects approximately 27,000 new patients annually in the UK, involves abnormal blood vessel growth beneath the retina, leading to rapid central vision deterioration if untreated. Mahon sought funding from the and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) for anti-VEGF injections such as Lucentis (ranibizumab, approximately £1,000 per dose) or Macugen (pegaptanib, £500 per dose), which could halt progression but were not routinely available on the NHS pending National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance expected in October 2007. The PCTs initially refused, citing cost constraints—up to £12,000 annually per patient for Lucentis—prompting Mahon to threaten High Court action, arguing the denial violated her human rights by depriving her of life-preserving treatment. Following media attention and parliamentary support, including an and Mahon's tabling of a , the PCTs relented on 31 January 2007 and approved funding for her Lucentis injections. Despite this, her vision continued to decline, as she later noted in efforts; in July 2013, she addressed a public meeting in Halifax on the challenges of wet AMD and barriers to effective drugs. No other major health challenges were publicly documented during her post-parliamentary years prior to her asbestos-related illness, though Mahon remained active in campaigns despite partial blindness, including rejoining the Labour Party in 2015. Alice Mahon died in December 2022 at the age of 85 from , a form of cancer strongly associated with prior exposure. The disease, which has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, arises from inhalation of fibers leading to inflammation and scarring in the lung lining. An at Bradford Coroners Court, concluded on April 13, 2023, determined that Mahon's death resulted from an industrial disease. Assistant Angela Brocklehurst ruled: "Mrs Mahon came by her death as a result of an industrial disease," specifically identifying malignant as the cause. During the proceedings, evidence included Mahon's own statements attributing her exposure to in the Houses of , where she served as MP for Halifax from 1987 to 2005; she described the building as "riddled with asbestos" and expressed particular concern over disturbances during renovations that may have released fibers. While Mahon also referenced possible earlier occupational exposures, the inquest highlighted Parliament as a key site of potential risk, establishing grounds for considering employer liability under industrial disease protocols. The verdict underscored ongoing asbestos hazards in UK public buildings, including , where surveys have confirmed widespread presence despite partial remediation efforts. Mahon's son, Martin, publicly stated that the inquest findings necessitated urgent government action to remove asbestos from workplaces, warning of continued risks to workers and visitors. This echoed Mahon's prior advocacy on asbestos-related health issues during her parliamentary career.

Assessments of political impact and criticisms

Mahon's parliamentary career, spanning 1987 to 2005 as Labour MP for Halifax, exerted influence primarily through her role as a consistent dissenter within the party, particularly on , where she amassed one of the highest rebellion rates against the Blair government among Labour MPs. Her advocacy contributed to mobilizing anti-war sentiment at Labour conferences in 2002 and 2003, where she accused Prime Minister of fabricating intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to justify invasion. Peers in the and anti-war organizations, such as , credited her early involvement—from joining the Committee to Stop War in the Gulf in 1990—with helping sustain to interventions, influencing a cadre of left-wing MPs who prioritized socialist internationalism over NATO-aligned policies. , in a 2023 tribute, assessed her as a "fearless champion for and peace," underscoring her enduring symbolic impact on Labour's left flank amid the party's shift toward . However, as a without executive roles, her tangible policy influence remained marginal, confined to amplifying debates rather than altering outcomes, with assessments from groups like Labour CND portraying her as a rare exemplar of principled defiance in a conformist . Criticisms of Mahon focused on her foreign policy positions, which opponents framed as overly sympathetic to authoritarian regimes and dismissive of humanitarian imperatives. Her 2006 testimony at Slobodan Milošević's International Criminal Tribunal for the former , where she described NATO's 1999 bombing campaign as an "illegal aggression" violating the alliance's , provoked backlash from pro-intervention voices for appearing to lend legitimacy to the Serbian leader's defense against charges of crimes in and Bosnia. This stance, coupled with her skepticism toward NATO narratives on events like the 1999 Račak incident—questioning official accounts of civilian massacres as potential staging—led to characterizations of her views as revisionist or enabling denial of , though she based arguments on parliamentary inquiries and eyewitness reports contesting Western intelligence. Within Labour, Blair-era loyalists criticized her frequent rebellions—over 100 votes against the —as undermining party unity on , exacerbating tensions that culminated in her 2005 departure from some anti-war alliances over perceived overly optimistic assessments of post-invasion . Obituaries noted she "never hesitated to court controversy," including endorsements of rehabilitating amid the Soviet collapse, but substantive detractors remained sparse in public record, often subsumed under broader dismissals of left-wing "" she rejected. Her 2009 resignation from Labour, decrying it as "undemocratic," drew counter-accusations of disloyalty from party figures, though she attributed this to the leadership's suppression of internal debate.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Alice Mahon married John Gledhill at the age of 20 in 1957. The couple had two sons, , who became a , and Kurt. They divorced in 1972, after which Mahon raised her sons as a single mother for several years while working in and . In 1975, Mahon married Tony Mahon, a official. The couple had no children together, and Mahon was survived by her two sons from her first marriage at the time of her death in 2022.

Personal interests and character

Mahon's personal interests were deeply intertwined with her political convictions, including a strong commitment to , , and advocacy, which extended beyond her parliamentary duties into her private life. She was an avid reader of the Morning Star, reflecting her longstanding engagement with socialist literature and ideas. held a central place in her personal values, influencing her worldview and family discussions on international affairs. Additionally, she identified as a , having faced opposition from anti-abortion groups during her tenure, which underscored her advocacy for as a core personal principle. In character, Mahon was renowned for her fiery style and acerbic yet humane wit, traits that made her a formidable presence unafraid of confronting adversaries or institutional norms. Described as determined and dogged, she remained unfazed by the grandeur of Westminster, prioritizing authenticity over political expediency. A proud working-class figure, she rejected careerism, driven instead by direct experiences of and that shaped her principled stance. Colleagues and allies, including , highlighted her uncompromising integrity and anti-racist outlook, evident in her appreciation for the diverse heritage of her grandchildren, blending roots with African-Caribbean ancestry.

References

  1. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-64129421
  2. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/alice-mahon-life-led-socialist-principles
  3. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/01/10/alice-mahon-fiery-left-wing-labour-mp-who-held-party-account/
  4. https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/alice-mahon-obituary/
  5. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/apr/18/alice-mahon-quits-labour-party
  6. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/alice-mahon-quits-labour-over-e-mail-smears-j809xd5rbht
  7. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65540230
  8. https://www.ier.org.uk/news/ministers-must-commit-to-asbestos-removal-from-workplaces-following-death-of-former-mp-alice-mahon/
  9. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/11/alice-mahon-obituary
  10. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/alice-mahon-obituary-bhdsnc33m
  11. https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/people/people-tributes-to-mp-alice-mahon-who-fought-tirelessly-for-halifax-for-18-years-3969931
  12. https://175heroes.bradfordcollege.ac.uk/alice%20_mahon.html
  13. https://ukvote100.org/2023/11/27/alice-mahon-and-rachel-squire/
  14. https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/alice-mahon-a-fighter-for-peace/
  15. https://labourhub.org.uk/2024/02/02/remembering-alice-mahon/
  16. https://www.extraordinarywomenni.com/assets/archives/arc3073/%283%29_v0_master.pdf
  17. https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/tribute-to-alice-mahon-by-jeremy-corbyn
  18. https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/1345/overview
  19. https://members.parliament.uk/member/409/contact
  20. https://dataworks.calderdale.gov.uk/download/e1qn8/bkp/election-results-20010607.csv
  21. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jul/09/localgovernment.raceintheuk
  22. http://mlkrook.org/pdf/Cowley_Childs_03.pdf
  23. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10407/alice_mahon/halifax/votes
  24. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2003/jul/09/nhs2000.politics
  25. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/jul/08/houseofcommons.uk1
  26. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2004-03-31.1632.0
  27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2566169.stm
  28. https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/81/health-and-social-care-committee/membership/former/
  29. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1989-03-03/debates/6ccf31ba-8e64-49f0-8056-2ff6361acaf1/CitizensCompensationBill
  30. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1994-06-29/debates/1240e39b-65bf-4ec7-9390-00aa9ed65dbf/RegulationOfDietIndustry
  31. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199394/cmhansrd/1994-06-29/Debate-1.html
  32. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2004-02-10/debates/dc3ab854-9bf7-4e9b-a70a-268895c4a611/BillPresented
  33. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmbills/050/2004050.pdf
  34. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10407/alice_mahon/halifax/divisions?policy=826
  35. https://cnduk.org/alice-mahon-an-example-to-all/
  36. https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/3688/opposition-to-war-in-the-gulf
  37. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/mar/04/foreignpolicy.uk1
  38. https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/tribute-to-former-labour-mp-alice-mahon/
  39. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/2685737.stm
  40. https://mcb.org.uk/house-of-commons-meeting-iraq-can-the-war-be-averted/
  41. https://www.icty.org/x/cases/slobodan_milosevic/trans/en/060301IT.htm
  42. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmhansrd/vo011206/halltext/11206h01.htm
  43. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/341946.stm
  44. https://iwpr.net/global-voices/milosevic-trial-hold
  45. http://www.slobodan-milosevic.org/news/smorg030106.htm
  46. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2001-12-06.160.3
  47. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/nov/15/usa.iraq
  48. https://www.democracynow.org/2005/11/8/u_s_broadcast_exclusive_fallujah_the
  49. http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/27a/290.html
  50. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8005581.stm
  51. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/veteran-left-winger-quits-labour-party-idUSTRE53H0Z6/
  52. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2023/feb/24/letter-alice-mahon-obituary
  53. https://www.sisters.org.uk/index.php/news/
  54. https://labourhub.org.uk/2023/01/04/alice-mahon-socialist-and-internationalist-to-the-end/
  55. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-cash-crisis-deprives-thousands-of-treatment-for-blindness-434236.html
  56. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/6311701.stm
  57. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/former-mp-talk-eyesight-loss-5051035
  58. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/we-have-lost-great-socialist-alice-mahon
  59. https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/alice-mahon-tributes-paid-to-yorkshire-mp-who-fought-tirelessly-for-constituents-for-18-years-3970194
  60. https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2023-04-14/mp-blamed-asbestos-in-parliament-for-disease-that-killed-her-inquest-hears
  61. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/23454347.alice-mahon-died-industrial-disease-inquest-concludes/
  62. https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/ministers-must-commit-asbestos-removal-workplaces-following-death-former-mp-alice-mahon
  63. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11972471/Ex-Labour-MP-Alice-Mahon-85-blamed-asbetsos-riddles-Parliament-disease-killed-her.html
  64. https://www.labourcnd.org.uk/2023/03/alice-mahon-steadfast-principled-faithful-to-her-class/
  65. https://www.nlpwessex.org/docs/kosovofalsehoods.htm
  66. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4293317.stm
  67. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/mps/574.shtml
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