Bill Wilson (Scottish politician)

Last updated

Bill Wilson
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West of Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
3 May 2007 –22 March 2011
Personal details
Born (1963-12-11) 11 December 1963 (age 59)
Paisley, Scotland
Political party Scottish Green Party (since 2017)
Other political
affiliations		 Scottish National Party (1989–2017)

Dr William Laurence Wilson (born 11 December 1963) is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was a regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2007 to 2011. He left the SNP in 2017 and now serves as co-convener of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Green Party.

Contents

Early life

Wilson was born in Paisley in 1963 and attended Shawlands Academy, the University of Glasgow, University of Aberdeen, and Queen's University Belfast. [1] [2] While living in Oxford, employed in conservation by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and the University of Oxford, he became politically involved with the Labour Party. Upon returning to his native Scotland he became convinced of the case for Scottish independence and that the Labour Party's commitment to social justice was waning. In 1989 he joined the Scottish National Party (SNP). [1]

Candidature and leadership challenge

He stood unsuccessfully as an SNP candidate for the House of Commons in the Glasgow Anniesland constituency in the 1997 General Election before standing in the Glasgow Maryhill constituency in both the 1999 and 2003 Scottish Parliamentary elections. Wilson was also elected chair of the SNP's Glasgow Regional Association in 2001.

In the aftermath of the SNP's poor election performance in 2003, Wilson became convinced that a change of direction was needed by the SNP leadership. After discussing this with various SNP members, he was persuaded to contest the leadership himself and launched a challenge against the SNP leader, John Swinney. [1] His campaign focused on the issue of centralising the control of the party away from the branches and activists, and what he argued was the trend of placing the SNP ideologically in the centre ground of politics, away from the party's traditional position on the left-of-centre.

In the leadership contest that ensued at the SNP's 2003 Conference Swinney received 577 votes from those delegates voting to Wilson's 111 to remain leader. There were 17 "positive abstentions" (delegates present who voted in other ballots that day) and 60 non-voters. However, the following year Swinney resigned after sustained media speculation that he was unsuitable for the role. The immediate catalyst for Swinney's resignation was the SNP's poor performance in the elections to the European Parliament, although many spectators commented that Wilson's challenge also contributed to his resignation.

Shortly after the leadership contest he stood down as convenor of the SNP Glasgow Regional Association and was replaced in that position by his leadership campaign manager. Wilson stood as the SNP candidate for the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency for the 2005 UK general election. He finished in second place behind James Sheridan of the Labour Party.

As an MSP

At the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Wilson stood in the West Renfrewshire constituency and also on the party list for the West of Scotland region. In West Renfrewshire he came third, the SNP dropping behind the Conservatives who took second place to Labour. He was elected on the regional list and sworn in as a Member of the Scottish Parliament.

Wilson's maiden speech to the Scottish Parliament, delivered on 6 June 2007, underlined his belief in the links between crime and deprivation and his commitment to social justice. [3]

His campaigns have included awareness of the negative health impact of depleted uranium on service personnel and civilians, equity fines for corporate crimes, as well as promotion of Scots language.

Joining the Scottish Greens

Following the 2017 General Election campaign Wilson left the SNP and subsequently joined the Scottish Green Party. On 28 June 2018 he was elected Co-Convener of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Greens, standing down in 2019. In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election he stood on the Lothian List for the Scottish Green Party as the 10th of 12 candidates. [4] The party won two seats in the region.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Swinney</span> Deputy First Minister of Scotland; Covid Recovery Secretary

John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004. He served as Education Secretary from 2016 to 2021 and as Finance Secretary from 2007 to 2016. Swinney has also served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Crawford</span> Scottish politician (born 1955)

Robert Hardie Bruce Crawford is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business and Government Strategy from 2011 to 2012, having held the junior ministerial position of Minister for Parliamentary Business from 2007 to 2011. Crawford served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Stirling from 2007 to 2021, having previously represented the Mid Scotland and Fife region 1999–2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell Martin</span>

Campbell Martin is a local online Scottish journalist and former politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Maxwell</span>

William Stewart Maxwell is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was the Minister for Communities and Sport from 2007 to 2009 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2003 to 2016.

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a left social democratic political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. The SNP has controlled Scotland's devolved legislature since the 2007 election as a minority government, and were a majority government from the 2011 election and have been a minority government, since the 2016 election. Its current leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is the First Minister of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Boyack</span> Scottish Labour politician

Sarah Herriot Boyack is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Central constituency from 1999 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Gibson (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish National Party politician

Kenneth James Gibson is a Scottish politician serving as the Convenor of the Finance and Public Administration Committee since 2021. A member Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Cunninghame North since 2007, having previously represented the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2003.

Colin McIver Campbell is a Scottish politician and military historian. He was a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for West of Scotland region from 1999 to 2003. Campbell is a former history teacher and secondary school headmaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Ullrich</span> Scottish politician (1943–2021)

Catherine Mario Ullrich was a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 1999 to 2003. A prominent member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was an early supporter of the political career of Nicola Sturgeon, who later became First Minister of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wilson (Scottish Green politician)</span>

John Gordon Wilson is a Scottish politician. He was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2007 until 2016. He sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member and then as an independent after 2014. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and then as an independent candidate in the 2017 Scottish local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Doris</span> Scottish National Party politician

Robert Joseph "Bob" Doris is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, having previously served as an MSP for Glasgow from 2007 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kelly (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour Co-op politician

James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021, having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Bibby</span> Scottish Labour Co-op politician

Neil James Bibby is a Scottish Labour co-operative politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chic Brodie (politician)</span> Scottish politician (1944–2022)

Charles Gilchrist Brodie, better known as Chic Brodie, was a Scottish politician. He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2011 until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Mackay</span> Former Scottish politician

Derek Mackay is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work from 2016 to 2020. A former member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Renfrewshire North and West from 2011 to 2021. Mackay served as a government minister from 2011 to 2020 under the administrations of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Scottish National Party leadership election</span> Leadership election in the Scottish National Party (SNP)

The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 Scottish National Party leadership election</span> Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership election

There was a Scottish National Party leadership election in 2003 following a challenge to John Swinney's position as National Convener of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Swinney defeated his challenger, although his victory would be short lived, and he would step down the following year following an unsuccessful European election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Scottish National Party leadership election</span> Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership election

The 2004 Scottish National Party leadership election was held following the resignation of John Swinney as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Nominations opened on 22 June, with three candidates nominated, and voting began on 13 August. This was the first election where all party members could vote. The results were announced on 3 September; Alex Salmond defeated Roseanna Cunningham and Michael Russell, with more than 75% of votes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 MacLeod, Murdo (27 July 2003). "Asking a leading question". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "Bill Wilson MSP - About Bill (Former MSP)". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "MSPs: Previous MSPs: Wilson, Bil". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Holyrood 2021 Candidates" . Retrieved 17 February 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.