Ishbel MacDonald

Ishbel Allan MacDonald was born on March 2, 1903. She was the daughter of Ramsay MacDonald, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and his wife Margaret MacDonald, née Gladstone. Margaret MacDonald died in 1911, a year after the death of the MacDonald family’s son, David, leaving Ramsay MacDonald as a single father to his five remaining children.

During her early education, Ishbel attended the City of London School for Girls and subsequently the North London Collegiate School. At North London Collegiate, she formed a friendship with Peggy Angus. Prior to her father’s tenure as Prime Minister, she studied social sciences.

In 1924, Ramsay MacDonald became Prime Minister, leading the United Kingdom’s first Labour Government. As the eldest daughter, Ishbel was appointed by her father to serve as his hostess at 10 Downing Street during his time in office. She was 20 years old at the time, making her the youngest person to hold the role of Prime Minister’s hostess. Her initial expectation was that her role would be temporary, coinciding with her father’s short-lived first term of ten months. During that period, she undertook efforts to reduce household expenses, including cuts to heating, food, transportation, and servants’ costs, which, at that time, were typically paid from a Prime Minister’s personal funds.

Despite her expectations, Ishbel continued to serve as her father’s official hostess through his subsequent terms in office and his years in opposition until his death in 1937. Her visible presence and activities made her a recognized figure in Britain, and she gained considerable public attention.

Politically, Ishbel was elected to the London County Council in 1928 as a Labour Party member representing Poplar. In 1931, she was re-elected to the council for Bow and Bromley. Unlike her father, who joined the National Labour organization, she remained loyal to the Labour Party but, as she continued serving as host at 10 Downing Street, the Labour Group declared her ineligible to receive the Labour whip in November 1931. Subsequently, she sat on the council as an Independent Socialist.

Following her father’s retirement from the premiership in 1935, Ishbel purchased and managed a country pub called The Old Plow in Speen near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She ran this establishment for 17 years. She was married twice: her first marriage was to Norman Ridgley in 1938, and after his death in 1950, she married James Peterkin in 1953. Both marriages ended with the deaths of her spouses, the latter occurring in 1956.

Ishbel MacDonald had no children. Later in her life, she resided at the family home in Lossiemouth, Scotland, near her father’s birthplace. She passed away in Lossiemouth on June 20, 1982, at the age of 79. She was buried under the name Ishbel Allan Peterkin in her family plot.