James Ramsay MacDonald (left), the illegitimate son of Ann Ramsay, a maidservant, was born in Lossiemouth, a fishing village in Morayshire (Scotland), on 12th October, 1866. He was brought up in his grandmother's cottage and was a student at the local school (1875-1881). An intelligent boy, he became a pupil-teacher and at nineteen found work in Bristol.
In 1886 MacDonald moved to London where he was employed as a clerk for the Cyclists' Touring Club. In his spare-time he studied for a science scholarship but as a result of a near-starvation diet his health declined and was forced to abandon his idea of an academic career.
In 1893 a new national working class party was formed called the Independent Labour Party. MacDonald joined in 1894 and the following year was the ILP candidate for Southampton in the 1895 General Election. MacDonald was defeated and overall, the party won only 44,325 votes. During the campaign in Southampton MacDonald met Margaret Gladstone, the daughter of the wealthy John Hall Gladstone. Margaret, a Christian Socialist, was impressed with MacDonald and despite their very different backgrounds they became engaged. After marriage in 1897, Margaret was able to finance her husband's political career from her private income. The couple travelled a great deal in the late 1890s and this gave MacDonald the opportunity to meet socialist leaders in other countries and helped him develop a good understanding of foreign affairs.
On 27th February 1900, representatives of all the socialist groups in Britain (the Independent Labour Party, the Social Democratic Federation and the Fabian Society), met with trade union leaders in London and the Labour Representation Committee, soon to be known as the Labour Party, was formed. MacDonald was chosen as the secretary of the LRC, one reason being that he was financed by his wealthy wife and he did not have to be paid a salary.
The LRC did much better in the 1906