James McGovern (politician) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

James McGovern is a Scottish Labour Party

Scottish Labour Party

The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....

politician, who has been the 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,...

(MP) for Dundee West

Dundee West (UK Parliament constituency)

Dundee West is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....

since 2005

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

Early life

McGovern was born in Glasgow but moved to 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...

at the age of 9. He was educated at the Catholic Lawside Academy

Lawside Academy

Lawside Academy was a state secondary school in Dundee, Scotland. It was a denominational school within the Catholic religious tradition, although it welcomed students from all religious backgrounds. It had a unique claim in that it was the northernmost state Catholic school in Europe. Lawside's...

. He left school at the age of 15 and at the age of 16 began an apprenticeship as a glazier

Glazier

A Glazier is a construction professional who selects, cuts, installs, replaces, and removes residential, commercial, and artistic glass. Glaziers also install aluminum storefront frames and entrances, glass handrails and balustrades, shower enclosures, curtain wall framing and glass and mirror...

. In 1987, after being made redundant, he worked as a glazier for Dundee City Council. Whilst working for the council he was active within the GMB union

GMB Union

The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...

. In 1997 he began working full time for the union as Trade Union Organiser.

Parliamentary career

He was first elected to the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

at the 2005 general election

United Kingdom general election, 2005

for Dundee West with a 14.6% majority, following the retirement of the sitting Labour MP Ernie Ross

Ernie Ross

Ernest Ross is a politician in the United Kingdom. He was Labour member of Parliament for Dundee West from 1979 until his retirement at the 2005 general election....

. Since 2005 he has served on the Scottish Affairs Committee

Scottish Affairs Committee

The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Scotland Office , and relations with the Scottish Parliament...

. Between 2007 and 2008 he served as the Parliamentary Private Secretary

Parliamentary Private Secretary

A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...

to Pat McFadden

Pat McFadden (British politician)

Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South East since 2005...

the Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a United Kingdom government department. The department was created on 28 June 2007 on the disbanding of the Department of Trade and Industry , and was itself disbanded on 6 June 2009 on the creation of the Department for Business,...

, before resigning over the row surrounding the privatisation of Royal Mail

Royal Mail

Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...

.
He was re-elected in 2010 with a majority of 19.6%.

Personal life

He is married to Norma with two children and lives in the Law

Law, Dundee

Law, Dundee is an area located in the centre of Dundee, Scotland. Its predominant feature is an extinct volcano which gives it its name.-Geology:...

part of Dundee.

External links

News items

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