John Scott | |
---|---|
Official portrait, 2011 | |
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament | |
In office 11 May 2011 –12 May 2016 Servingwith Elaine Smith | |
Presiding Officer | Tricia Marwick |
Preceded by | Alasdair Morgan |
Succeeded by | Christine Grahame |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Ayr | |
In office 16 March 2000 –5 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | Ian Welsh |
Succeeded by | Siobhian Brown |
Personal details | |
Born | Girvan,Scotland | 7 June 1951
Political party | Scottish Conservatives |
William John Graham Scott OBE (born 7 June 1951) is a Scottish farmer and former Scottish Conservative politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr from 2000 to 2021.
Born in Girvan,Scott was educated at Barrhill Primary in South Ayrshire and George Watson's College in Edinburgh. He has a Bachelor of Science degree for Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburgh [ citation needed ].
Scott played for the Wigtownshire Rugby Club from 1969 to 1973,a hobby he enjoys to this day[ citation needed ].
Scott established the Ayrshire Farmers Market in 1999 and founded the Scottish Association for Farmers in 2001[ citation needed ]. He tends to his farm in Balkissock outside of Ballantrae in South Ayrshire,whilst also owning a flat in the town of Ayr. [1]
Scott stood as the Conservative candidate for Carrick,Cumnock and Doon Valley at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election,finishing third behind Labour and the Scottish National Party with 8,123 votes (19.8%). He has served as constituency MSP for Ayr since winning the constituency in a by-election in 2000. He was returned to Parliament at the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election and again,with an increased majority,at the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election. At the 2011 and 2016 elections he retained the constituency with a reduced majority,despite seeing his vote increase by 3,564 between 2007 and 2016.
Scott declared his support for Ruth Davidson in the Scottish Conservative leader election. [2] On 11 May 2011,he was elected by MSPs to serve as one of the two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament. [3] He served until 2016 when he was unsuccessful in his attempt to become Presiding Officer.
Scott is the Scottish Conservative spokesperson for sustainable development,having previously served as spokesperson for the environment from 2001 until 2003 and as spokesperson on rural affairs from 2007 until 2011. [4] He was appointed as the convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament in June 2016. [5] In 2021,he lost his seat to the Scottish National Party's Siobhian Brown. [6]
Scott was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for political and public service. [7] [8]
Scott came under fire after it emerged that he profited from wind energy investments –despite his party having previously opposed the development of such projects. The Register of Interests for Mr Scott states:"From 6 March 2009 part of the Farm’s income comes from a contract with CRE Energy Ltd to provide access over the farm for the purpose of building and maintaining a windfarm". [9]
James Alexander Stewart Stevenson is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 2001 to 2021. He was the MSP for Banff and Buchan from 2001 to 2011,and after boundary changes he was the MSP for Banffshire &Buchan Coast from 2011 to 2021.
Alasdair Neil Morgan is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was Depute Leader of the SNP) from 1990–91 and served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 1997–2001. He was elected in 1999 as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale. From 2003–2011,he served as a member for the South of Scotland region.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019,and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats,down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Ayr,Carrick,and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick,Cumnock and Doon Valley constituencies. It has been represented since 2019 by Allan Dorans of the Scottish National Party.
Central Ayrshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons,located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire council areas. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.
Ayr is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the town of Ayr in the council area of South Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) via the plurality electoral system. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region which elects seven additional members to the Scottish Parliament via a proportional electoral system known as the Additional Members System which allows for greater accuracy in representation for the region as a whole.
Carrick,Cumnock and Doon Valley is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood,covering parts of the council areas of South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. Also,it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region,which elects seven additional members,in addition to the nine constituency MSPs,to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Sir Alexander Charles Onslow Fergusson was a Scottish Conservative Party politician who served as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2007 to 2011. He was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016,initially for the South of Scotland region and later for the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency after 2003.
Scotland has elections to several bodies:the Scottish Parliament,the United Kingdom Parliament,local councils and community councils. Before the United Kingdom left the European Union,Scotland elected members to the European Parliament.
Cunninghame North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election,and is one of ten constituencies one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region,which elects seven additional members,in addition to the ten constituency MSPs,to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Doonfoot is a suburb in the south-west of Ayr,South Ayrshire.
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021,under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
Alison Johnstone is a Scottish politician who has served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament since 2021. Elected as a member of the Scottish Greens,she relinquished her party affiliation on becoming Presiding Officer. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2011.
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday,5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote,under the provisions of the Scottish Elections Act. It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.
Charles "Chic" Gilchrist Brodie is a Scottish politician,who has been the leader of Scotia Future since 2020.
Corraine "Corri" Wilson is an Alba Party politician who was previously the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr,Carrick and Cumnock from 2015–2017.
Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Western constituency since 2016.
Allan Hopkins Dorans is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr,Carrick and Cumnock since the 2019 general election. He is the Vice Dean of Ayr Guildry. Dorans was made a Companion of the Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 1990 and a Member of the Chartered Management Institute (MCMI) in 2000.
The 6th Scottish Parliament was elected at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. It was opened with the Escort to the Crown of Scotland Parade and Speech from the Throne on 3 October 2021.
Siobhian Brown is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she was a councillor for the Ayr West ward of South Ayrshire Council.