Ian Davidson (British politician)
Ian Graham Davidson (born 8 September 1950) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician, who was a Member of Parliament for successive Glasgow seats from 1992 until 2015; from 2005 to 2015 he represented Glasgow South West. In 2017 and in 2019 he was Scottish Labour's parliamentary candidate in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk. Davidson previously worked as a Community Service Manager and for Janey Buchan when she was a Member of the European Parliament.
Ian Davidson | |
---|---|
![]() Davidson in 2011 | |
Chair of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee | |
In office 17 May 2010 – 30 March 2015 | |
Preceded by | Mohammad Sarwar |
Succeeded by | Pete Wishart |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West Glasgow Pollok (1997–2005) | |
In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015 | |
Preceded by | Jimmy Dunnachie |
Succeeded by | Chris Stephens |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan | |
In office 9 April 1992 – 1 May 1997 | |
Preceded by | Jim Sillars |
Succeeded by | Mohammad Sarwar |
Personal details | |
Born | Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Scotland | 8 September 1950
Nationality | Scottish |
Political party | Labour Co-operative |
Spouse(s) | Morag Mackinnon (m. 1978) |
Children | 1 son, 1 daughter |
Davidson was the Chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee from 2010 until 2015.[1]
Political career
From 1973 to 1974, Davidson was Chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students.[2] He served as a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council from 1978 to 1992, and was convenor of its education committee.
He became an MP in 1992, originally for the seat of Glasgow Govan and, following boundary changes, for Glasgow Pollok from 1997 to 2005. After further major boundary changes across Scotland, Davidson stood in the 2005 general election for the new constituency of Glasgow South West, where he won the second biggest swing to Labour in Scotland. He was a member of the Public Accounts Select committee and has lobbied to support the Scottish shipbuilding industry. He was also secretary of the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs.
In 2002 he criticised Prince Michael of Kent for 'squatting' in Kensington Palace. More recently he has criticised the Prince of Wales over his personal finances. He was the chair of Labour Against the Euro before it ceased campaigning following the 2003 decision by Gordon Brown that the five economic tests for Britain to join the euro had not been met.
During the debate in the House of Commons over the decision whether to have a referendum over the EU Treaty of Lisbon (5 March 2008), Davidson drew jeers from his Labour colleagues for branding New Labour supporters "Maoists and Trotskyists". Davidson was putting forward the case for disobeying the party line and voting for a referendum.
During the 2009–10 Expenses Scandal, it emerged that Davidson claimed £87,699 in the four years to 2007, significantly below the maximum permitted.
He served as chair of the Scotland Office Select committee from 2010 to 2015. In June 2011, he accused the Scottish National Party of "narrow neo-fascism". The choice of language resulted in the Labour Party distancing itself from Davidson's comments, saying the use of the word "neo-fascist" was unacceptable, even in the heat of debate,[3] and Angus Robertson to call on him to resign as chair of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.[4]
He is a supporter of Republic, a campaign to replace the British Monarchy with an elected head of state.[5]
In May 2015 he lost his seat to Chris Stephens of the SNP. Davidson indicated that he may support Britain's withdrawal from the European Union,[6] and indeed he later took up a key role in Vote Leave.[7]
In April 2017, Davidson announced his intention to stand in the 2017 General Election in the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk seat.[8] He was chosen because of his close personal connections with the area, having been born and raised nearby. He was unsuccessful but increased the Labour vote enough to secure the party's deposit, which had been lost by the party's candidate in the previous election. Davidson saw his party's vote rise by 67% to 4,519 or 8.6% of the vote. In October 2019, following the announcement of a December general election, he was reselected as Labour's candidate, but failed to win the seat.
Personal life
Davidson has been married to Morag Mackinnon since 1978 and they have a son and a daughter.[9][10] Since leaving parliament in 2015, Davidson has started swimming competitively, winning a series of medals in the Masters Swimming competitions.
References
- "Labour MP condemns 'rigged purge'". Heraldscotland.com. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- "UK political and parliamentary news, interviews, analysis, comment, blogs and podcasts". ePolitix.com. 8 September 1950. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- "Storm over MP Ian Davidson's SNP 'neo-facist' remark". bbc.co.uk. 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- D'Arcy, Mark (23 June 2011). "Can Ian Davidson stay as chair after neo fascist jibe?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- "Our Supporters". Republic. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- "EU exit campaign to use SNP case for independence". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- "Scots Brexit campaign hit by damaging Labour snub". HeraldScotland. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
- "Tory MSP quits Holyrood to fight for Westminster seat". STV News. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
- "House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests - Part 2: Part 2". publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- "BBC NEWS | VOTE 2001 | CANDIDATES". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
External links
- Official site
- Profile at the Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Ian Davidson MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com – Ian Davidson MP
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Ian Davidson
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Jim Sillars |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan 1992–1997 |
Succeeded by Mohammad Sarwar |
Preceded by Jimmy Dunnachie |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Pollok 1997–2005 |
Constituency abolished |
New constituency | Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West 2005–2015 |
Succeeded by Chris Stephens |