George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock
Encyclopedia
George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, PC
(born 21 January 1942, Oswestry
, Shropshire
) is a British Labour Party
life peer
. He has been a member of the House of Commons, the House of Lords
and the Scottish Parliament
. Until May 2011 he was a member of both the Lords and the Scottish Parliament but he did not seek reelection to the Scottish Parliament in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. He is often described by the media as an "ultra loyalist" to the Labour Party
.
Foulkes was a strong supporter of ID cards, regularly speaking in favour of former British Government proposals. He is also a supporter of Scottish devolution
and was involved in the drafting of "A Claim of Right for Scotland
" in 1988.
, Banffshire
. He later attended the independent, fee-paying Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
in Hertfordshire
. His political career began in 1963, when he became Senior President of the Students' Representative Council
at the University of Edinburgh
. He later became the full time President of the Scottish Union of Students (which was later incorporated into the UK National Union of Students). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science
in Psychology
.
, as Labour
and Co-operative
Member of Parliament
for South Ayrshire
. After the constituency's abolition in boundary changes, he was elected in the 1983 general election
for the new constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
.
As an MP, Foulkes introduced the first-ever proposals for a smoking ban
in public places in 1982 and legislation against age discrimination in 1985, both through private member's bill
s.
After serving on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Council of Europe
, he was appointed to the Opposition Front Bench as an opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs from 1983–92, then for Defence from 1992-93. He then served as Joan Lestor's deputy at International Development from 1994-1997.
When Labour won the election in 1997
he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary
at the Department for International Development
, where he was Clare Short
's deputy. From February 2001 he was Minister of State for Scotland until the May 2002 reshuffle. From June 2003 to May 2005 he was a UK delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
and the Assembly of the Western European Union
. Foulkes was made a member of the Privy Council
in 2002, and stepped down from office at the 2005 general election.
He is a strong supporter of the Iraq war and has described Tony Blair
's conduct of the war as clearly intentioned, carried through brilliantly and resulting in much improvement for the people of the country. Commenting on Sir Christopher Meyer's testimony to the Iraq Inquiry in 2009, he described the inquiry as "a procession of primadonnas and the usual suspects grandstanding for the TV".
. In June 2005 the peerage was gazetted as Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, of Cumnock
in East Ayrshire
.
He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Interparliamentary Union and Member of the Board of Governors of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
. He was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee
in the Cabinet Office
from 2007 to May 2010 and has been a Member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy since October 2010.
Lord Foulkes has also been a member of the Lords E.U Select Committee and member of the Lords E.U Sub Committee on Social Policy and Consumer Protection since March 2011.
Lord Foulkes is very active on Caribbean
matters. He serves as President of the Caribbean Britain Business Council, Chair of the Dominican Republic
All-Party Parliamentary Group
, Chair of the Belize
All-Party Parliamentary Group, Vice Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago
All-Party Parliamentary Group and Vice Chair of the British - Central America
All-Party Parliamentary Group. In April 2011 Lord Foulkes became President of the Caribbean Council. Mr Foulkes has several business interests in the Caribbean and is well respected amongst Caribbean business circles.
's Lothian
List in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election
, and was vice-chairman of Labour's Holyrood
election campaign. Lord Foulkes was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament
on 3 May 2007.
Since his election to the Scottish Parliament Foulkes has been responsible for Labour's opposition to the minority SNP Government. For that he has been a regular target of attacks by SNP bloggers, whom he branded “CyberNats”. He regularly tables Parliamentary Questions scrutinising the Scottish Government’s conduct, and supposedly exposed several "irregularities", including the entertaining of wealthy SNP backers at Bute House at the expense of the taxpayer, and the preferential treatment given to Stagecoach
, whose co-founder Brian Souter
gave £500,000 to the SNP, in the Forth hovercraft project. None of these supposed "irregularities" has led to parliamentary censure for the SNP, and may be viewed as within the usual range of political attacks on an opponent.
Foulkes has also been part of a campaign for presumed consent on organ donation
.
He failed to be elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh on the 12 February 2009, securing 31% of the vote to the 69% taken by Iain Macwhirter
.
football club from April 2004 until his resignation on 31 October 2005. Foulkes resigned in protest at the majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov
deciding to dismiss the Hearts chief executive Phil Anderton
.
Foulkes attracted controversy after referring to the Scottish National Party
(SNP) of acting in a "xenophobic way". The former Scottish Labour Party
leader Henry McLeish
called on Foulkes to apologise for the SNP 'racism' claim.
During the 2009 expenses controversy, Foulkes attacked media presenters, saying they were all paid "to come on TV and sneer at democracy and undermine democracy. The vast majority of MPs are being undermined by you" in an exchange with BBC presenter Carrie Gracie
.
In 2008, Foulkes had been criticised for his expenses claims, which included around £45,000 over a period of two years for overnight subsistence to stay in a flat he had inherited. Between April 2007 and March 2008, Foulkes claimed £54,527 in expenses from the House of Lords. In January 2009 Foulkes was shown to have one of the lowest expenses claims in the Scottish Parliament.
In 1993, he was forced to resign as Shadow Defence Minister after being convicted of being drunk and disorderly during in incident in which he struck a Police officer.
He has also made Freedom of Information
requests about the expenses of General Sir Richard Dannatt
, lately head of the British Army
.
On 15 September 2010, Foulkes, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian
, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI
's state visit to the UK
.
On 24 August 2011 The Scotsman
reported that George Foulkes had announced that he would table an amendment to the Scotland Bill with the intention to make it impossible for the Scottish Government to sustain free university education for students in Scotland.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(born 21 January 1942, Oswestry
Oswestry
Oswestry is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483, and A495 roads....
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
) is a British Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
. He has been a member of the House of Commons, the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and 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...
. Until May 2011 he was a member of both the Lords and the Scottish Parliament but he did not seek reelection to the Scottish Parliament in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. He is often described by the media as an "ultra loyalist" to the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
Foulkes was a strong supporter of ID cards, regularly speaking in favour of former British Government proposals. He is also a supporter of Scottish devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
and was involved in the drafting of "A Claim of Right for Scotland
Claim of Right 1989
A Claim of Right for Scotland was a document crafted by the Scottish Constitutional Convention in 1988, declaring the sovereignty of the Scottish people...
" in 1988.
Early life
George Foulkes spent his early childhood in KeithKeith, Moray
Keith is a small town in the Moray council area in north east Scotland. It has a population of around 4,500....
, Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
. He later attended the independent, fee-paying Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
. His political career began in 1963, when he became Senior President of the Students' Representative Council
Students' Representative Council
A Students' Representative Council represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms part of a broader Students' Association which may include other functions such as societies, entertainments and sports Universities...
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. He later became the full time President of the Scottish Union of Students (which was later incorporated into the UK National Union of Students). He graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Personal life
Foulkes is a keen supporter and ex Chairman of Heart of Midlothian football club in Edinburgh (CSF)House of Commons
Foulkes was first elected in the 1979 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
, as Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and Co-operative
Co-operative Party
The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1983, when it was abolished...
. After the constituency's abolition in boundary changes, he was elected in the 1983 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
for the new constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (UK Parliament constituency)
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005...
.
As an MP, Foulkes introduced the first-ever proposals for a smoking ban
Smoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
in public places in 1982 and legislation against age discrimination in 1985, both through private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
s.
After serving on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, he was appointed to the Opposition Front Bench as an opposition spokesperson on Foreign Affairs from 1983–92, then for Defence from 1992-93. He then served as Joan Lestor's deputy at International Development from 1994-1997.
When Labour won the election in 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
, where he was Clare Short
Clare Short
Clare Short is a British politician, and a member of the Labour Party. She was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010; for most of this period she was a Labour Party MP, but she resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an Independent. She...
's deputy. From February 2001 he was Minister of State for Scotland until the May 2002 reshuffle. From June 2003 to May 2005 he was a UK delegate to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
and the Assembly of the Western European Union
Western European Union
The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...
. Foulkes was made a member of the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
in 2002, and stepped down from office at the 2005 general election.
He is a strong supporter of the Iraq war and has described Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's conduct of the war as clearly intentioned, carried through brilliantly and resulting in much improvement for the people of the country. Commenting on Sir Christopher Meyer's testimony to the Iraq Inquiry in 2009, he described the inquiry as "a procession of primadonnas and the usual suspects grandstanding for the TV".
House of Lords
On 13 May 2005, it was announced that Foulkes was to be created a life peerLife peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
. In June 2005 the peerage was gazetted as Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, of Cumnock
Cumnock
Cumnock is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water...
in East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...
.
He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Interparliamentary Union and Member of the Board of Governors of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
The Westminster Foundation for Democracy is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body set up to promote democratic institutions overseas. It was established in March 1992 and registered as a company limited by guarantee. It receives funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the...
. He was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee
Intelligence and Security Committee
The Intelligence and Security Committee is a committee of parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister to oversee the work of the Intelligence machinery of the United Kingdom...
in the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
from 2007 to May 2010 and has been a Member of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy since October 2010.
Lord Foulkes has also been a member of the Lords E.U Select Committee and member of the Lords E.U Sub Committee on Social Policy and Consumer Protection since March 2011.
Lord Foulkes is very active on Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
matters. He serves as President of the Caribbean Britain Business Council, Chair of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
All-Party Parliamentary Group
All-Party Parliamentary Group
An all-party parliamentary group is a grouping in the UK parliament that is composed of politicians from all political parties.-All-party parliamentary groups:...
, Chair of the Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
All-Party Parliamentary Group, Vice Chair of the Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
All-Party Parliamentary Group and Vice Chair of the British - Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
All-Party Parliamentary Group. In April 2011 Lord Foulkes became President of the Caribbean Council. Mr Foulkes has several business interests in the Caribbean and is well respected amongst Caribbean business circles.
Scottish Parliament
Foulkes returned to electoral politics in 2007 when he led the Scottish Labour PartyScottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
's Lothian
Lothians (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
The Lothians was one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 to 2011. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
List in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election
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...
, and was vice-chairman of Labour's Holyrood
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
election campaign. Lord Foulkes was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament
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:...
on 3 May 2007.
Since his election to the Scottish Parliament Foulkes has been responsible for Labour's opposition to the minority SNP Government. For that he has been a regular target of attacks by SNP bloggers, whom he branded “CyberNats”. He regularly tables Parliamentary Questions scrutinising the Scottish Government’s conduct, and supposedly exposed several "irregularities", including the entertaining of wealthy SNP backers at Bute House at the expense of the taxpayer, and the preferential treatment given to Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, whose co-founder Brian Souter
Brian Souter
Sir Brian Souter , is a Scottish businessman. He is the co-founder of the Stagecoach Group, along with his sister, Ann Gloag. He is also widely known for his controversial public statements and for his attempt to keep Section 28 in law, which led to widespread accusations of homophobia...
gave £500,000 to the SNP, in the Forth hovercraft project. None of these supposed "irregularities" has led to parliamentary censure for the SNP, and may be viewed as within the usual range of political attacks on an opponent.
Foulkes has also been part of a campaign for presumed consent on organ donation
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
.
He failed to be elected Rector of the University of Edinburgh on the 12 February 2009, securing 31% of the vote to the 69% taken by Iain Macwhirter
Iain Macwhirter
Iain Macwhirter is a Scottish political commentator, who has worked at both the UK Parliament and Scottish Parliament, presenting the BBC2 programmes "Westminster Live" and "Scrutiny".- Early career :...
.
Controversies
Foulkes was chairman of HeartsHeart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
football club from April 2004 until his resignation on 31 October 2005. Foulkes resigned in protest at the majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Romanov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ; born 1947 in Tver Oblast, Russian SFSR, USSR) is an ethnic Russian businessman who also holds Lithuanian citizenship following that country's independence from the Soviet Union. He is chairman of UBIG Investments which is the majority shareholder in Scottish Premier...
deciding to dismiss the Hearts chief executive Phil Anderton
Phil Anderton
-Scottish Rugby Union:Anderton is currently the Chief Executive Offiver of Al Jazira Club in Abu Dhabi. He was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Rugby Union in February 2004, after several years of successful marketing within the SRU....
.
Foulkes attracted controversy after referring to 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....
(SNP) of acting in a "xenophobic way". The former Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
leader Henry McLeish
Henry McLeish
Henry Baird McLeish is a Scottish Labour Party politician, author and academic. Formerly a professional association football player, McLeish was the Member of Parliament for Central Fife from 1987 to 2001 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Fife from 1999 to 2003, during which...
called on Foulkes to apologise for the SNP 'racism' claim.
During the 2009 expenses controversy, Foulkes attacked media presenters, saying they were all paid "to come on TV and sneer at democracy and undermine democracy. The vast majority of MPs are being undermined by you" in an exchange with BBC presenter Carrie Gracie
Carrie Gracie
Carrie Gracie is a Scottish journalist and newsreader for BBC News.-Background:Gracie's father was a Scottish oil executive; Gracie was born while he was on assignment in Bahrain. She was educated in Aberdeenshire and Glasgow...
.
In 2008, Foulkes had been criticised for his expenses claims, which included around £45,000 over a period of two years for overnight subsistence to stay in a flat he had inherited. Between April 2007 and March 2008, Foulkes claimed £54,527 in expenses from the House of Lords. In January 2009 Foulkes was shown to have one of the lowest expenses claims in the Scottish Parliament.
In 1993, he was forced to resign as Shadow Defence Minister after being convicted of being drunk and disorderly during in incident in which he struck a Police officer.
He has also made Freedom of Information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
requests about the expenses of General Sir Richard Dannatt
Richard Dannatt
General Francis Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, is a retired British Army officer and the incumbent Constable of the Tower of London. He was commissioned into the Green Howards in 1971, and his first tour of duty was in Belfast as a platoon commander. During his second tour of duty, also in...
, lately head of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
On 15 September 2010, Foulkes, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
's state visit to the UK
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom
Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom from 16 to 19 September 2010 was the first state visit by a pope to the United Kingdom...
.
On 24 August 2011 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....
reported that George Foulkes had announced that he would table an amendment to the Scotland Bill with the intention to make it impossible for the Scottish Government to sustain free university education for students in Scotland.