David Whitton
Encyclopedia
David Whitton is a British journalist, Labour party
politician and former MSP
. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament
for Strathkelvin and Bearsden
in 2007
, defeating the incumbent Independent
MSP Jean Turner
, and losing the seat at the 2011 election to Fiona McLeod
of the Scottish National Party
.
in Dundee
. He began his journalistic career with DC Thomson in 1970 before moving to the Fife Free Press and then the Evening Express
in Aberdeen
, specialising in local government activities. He worked at The Scotsman
in Glasgow for three years then moved to the Daily Record
where he became Industrial Editor in 1983. From 1986-96, Whitton worked at Scottish Television
in a variety of roles including producer of news and current affairs programmes, Lobby Correspondent at Westminster
, presenter of political programming and on screen news reporter. He was Head of Public Affairs from 1994-96. Whitton's time at Scottish Television
was followed by a short period as a Director of the PR company, Media House. David Whitton is married and has two children and two grandchildren. He is a member of the National Union of Journalists
.
. Whitton was a member of Scottish Labour Party
's Scottish Parliament election campaign
responsible for organising broadcasting coverage and media activity for the Party leader.
Following the first Scottish Parliament elections, Whitton became Special Adviser to the First Minister of Scotland
, Donald Dewar
and Official Spokesman for the First Minister
and the Scottish Executive
. Whitton delivered a reading at Dewar's funeral at Glasgow Cathedral
on 18 October 2000.
In 2000, Whitton established his own public affairs consultancy
with clients including Scottish Enterprise
, The Scottish Council for Development and Industry
, The Al‑Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. During this period, he was also a member of the committee raising funds for the Donald Dewar
chair of Social Justice.
becoming Parliamentary Aide to Wendy Alexander
MSP until her resignation as party leader on 28 June 2008. In addition to a position as Deputy Labour Party Spokesperson on Finance, he was a substitute member of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Labour Trade Union Group, and a Board member of the Scottish Parliamentary Business Exchange.
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
politician and former MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
for Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
in 2007
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
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...
, defeating the incumbent Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
MSP Jean Turner
Jean Turner
Dr. Jean McGivern Turner is a former Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden....
, and losing the seat at the 2011 election to Fiona McLeod
Fiona McLeod
Fiona McLeod is a Scottish politician. She is the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency...
of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
.
Background
Whitton was educated at the Morgan AcademyMorgan Academy
-History:It was designed in 1862 by the Edinburgh architects John Dick Peddie and Charles Kinnear, opening in 1868 as the Morgan Hospital, a charitable institution providing accommodation and education for "sons of tradesmen and persons of the working class generally whose parents stand in the need...
in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
. He began his journalistic career with DC Thomson in 1970 before moving to the Fife Free Press and then the Evening Express
Evening Express (Scotland)
The Evening Express is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It was first published in November 1879.It was a tabloid during the 1930s to the 1950s until it resumed a broadsheet in November 1958, six days a week. By September 1989, The Saturday edition returned to a...
in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, specialising in local government activities. He worked at The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
in Glasgow for three years then moved to the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
where he became Industrial Editor in 1983. From 1986-96, Whitton worked at Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
in a variety of roles including producer of news and current affairs programmes, Lobby Correspondent at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, presenter of political programming and on screen news reporter. He was Head of Public Affairs from 1994-96. Whitton's time at Scottish Television
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
was followed by a short period as a Director of the PR company, Media House. David Whitton is married and has two children and two grandchildren. He is a member of the National Union of Journalists
National Union of Journalists
The National Union of Journalists is a trade union for journalists in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and has 38,000 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists .-Structure:...
.
Political career
In 1999 Whitton became Special Adviser to the then Scottish Secretary Donald DewarDonald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
. Whitton was a member of Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
's Scottish Parliament election campaign
Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...
responsible for organising broadcasting coverage and media activity for the Party leader.
Following the first Scottish Parliament elections, Whitton became Special Adviser to the First Minister of Scotland
First Minister of Scotland
The First Minister of Scotland is the political leader of Scotland and head of the Scottish Government. The First Minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy...
, Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
and Official Spokesman for the First Minister
First Minister
A First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.-Canada:In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers...
and the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
. Whitton delivered a reading at Dewar's funeral at Glasgow Cathedral
Glasgow Cathedral
The church commonly known as Glasgow Cathedral is the Church of Scotland High Kirk of Glasgow otherwise known as St. Mungo's Cathedral.The other cathedrals in Glasgow are:* The Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew...
on 18 October 2000.
In 2000, Whitton established his own public affairs consultancy
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
with clients including Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise is a sponsored non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business...
, The Scottish Council for Development and Industry
Scottish Council for Development and Industry
The Scottish Council for Development and Industry , founded in 1931, is a non-governmental, membership organisation which aims to strengthen Scotland’s economic competitiveness through influencing government and key stakeholders to create sustainable economic prosperity for Scotland.SCDI has about...
, The Al‑Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. During this period, he was also a member of the committee raising funds for the Donald Dewar
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar was a British politician who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament in Scotland from 1966-1970, and then again from 1978 until his death in 2000. He served in Tony Blair's cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1997-1999 and was instrumental in the creation...
chair of Social Justice.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Whitton was elected to the Scottish Parliament in May 2007 for the constituency of Strathkelvin and BearsdenStrathkelvin and Bearsden (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
becoming Parliamentary Aide to Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander is a Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the leader of the Labour Party group in the Scottish Parliament from 2007-2008...
MSP until her resignation as party leader on 28 June 2008. In addition to a position as Deputy Labour Party Spokesperson on Finance, he was a substitute member of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee, Member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Labour Trade Union Group, and a Board member of the Scottish Parliamentary Business Exchange.
Career timeline
- Rathfern Road Primary, London, (1957 – 63)
- Forest Hill School, London, 1963
- Morgan Academy, Dundee (1963 – 70)
- Journalist, Dundee Courier, Fife Free Press, Kirkcaldy and Evening Express, Aberdeen (1970 – 78)
- Reporter, The Scotsman, (1978 – 81)
- Industrial Reporter, Daily Record (1981 – 83)
- Industrial Editor, Daily Record, (1983 – 86)
- Reporter, presenter, producer, Scottish Television (1986 – 94)
- Head of Public Affairs, Scottish Television (1994 – 96)
- Director, Media House (1996 – 98)
- Special Adviser to Donald Dewar, First Minister (1998 – 2000)
- Managing Director, Whitton PR Ltd (2000 – 2007)
- Member of the Scottish Parliament (2007 – 2011)