Keith Raffan
Encyclopedia
Keith William Twort Raffan, (born 21 June 1949) in Aberdeen, is a former Conservative Member of Parliament
and Scottish
Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
Keith Raffan was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
. Originally a Conservative, he was in the 1970s a chairman of Pressure for Economic and Social Toryism (precursor of the Tory Reform Group
), placing him on the left of the Tories.
He was a Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) in Westminster
for the Welsh
seat of Delyn
from 1983–92, but his progressive views on issues like drugs and devolution put him out of favour with the prevailing leadership of Margaret Thatcher
, and he was never made a Minister. Raffan was one of the few Conservative MPs to support the 'stalking horse' leadership challenge of Sir Anthony Meyer MP
(his constituency neighbour in north Wales) against Mrs Thatcher in 1989, and he then supported Michael Heseltine's challenge to Thatcher the following year.
Raffan stood down from Delyn in the 1992 General Election
and abandoned the Tories due to his support for devolution and their resolute opposition to it. After working as a broadcaster in New York and then for Welsh TV Channel HTV
, he joined the Liberal Democrats and moved to Scotland. There he first stood (unsuccessfully) in the North East Scotland European by election in 1998, and then at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election he was elected as a regional list MSP to represent Mid Scotland and Fife
.
He was one of three LibDem MSPs (along with Donald Gorrie
and John Farquhar Munro
) to oppose the coalition with the Labour Party
in the Scottish Parliament
in 1999; and was alone in his LibDem colleagues in not backing Donald Dewar
for First Minister
(he abstained from the vote) that year.
Raffan was re-elected at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election and he also became a Vice Convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. However, in December, 2004 he was subject to wide criticism for claiming abnormally large expense costs from the Scottish Parliament. The following month he resigned as an MSP, citing health reasons and not the controversy his expense claim had caused as the reason.
He was replaced by Andrew Arbuckle
, who had been next on the Lib-Dem list for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2003.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats have confirmed to the press that Raffan is no longer a party member. He now lives in London, and is no longer associated with either of the two political parties that formed the basis of his parliamentary career.
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,...
and Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
Keith Raffan was educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...
. Originally a Conservative, he was in the 1970s a chairman of Pressure for Economic and Social Toryism (precursor of the Tory Reform Group
Tory Reform Group
The Tory Reform Group is a group aligned to, but independent of, the British Conservative Party, that works to promote the values of the One Nation Tory vision...
), placing him on the left of the Tories.
He was a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
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) in Westminster
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...
for the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
seat of Delyn
Delyn (UK Parliament constituency)
Delyn is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, first used in the 1983 General Election. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1983–92, but his progressive views on issues like drugs and devolution put him out of favour with the prevailing leadership of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, and he was never made a Minister. Raffan was one of the few Conservative MPs to support the 'stalking horse' leadership challenge of Sir Anthony Meyer MP
Anthony Meyer
Sir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative and later Liberal Democrat politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989...
(his constituency neighbour in north Wales) against Mrs Thatcher in 1989, and he then supported Michael Heseltine's challenge to Thatcher the following year.
Raffan stood down from Delyn in the 1992 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1992
The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party. This election result was one of the biggest surprises in 20th Century politics, as polling leading up to the day of the election showed Labour under leader Neil...
and abandoned the Tories due to his support for devolution and their resolute opposition to it. After working as a broadcaster in New York and then for Welsh TV Channel HTV
HTV
HTV, now legally known as ITV Wales & West, is the ITV contractor for Wales and the West of England, which operated from studios in Cardiff and Bristol. The company provided commercial television for the dual-region 'Wales and West' franchise, which it won from TWW in 1968...
, he joined the Liberal Democrats and moved to Scotland. There he first stood (unsuccessfully) in the North East Scotland European by election in 1998, and then at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election he was elected as a regional list MSP to represent Mid Scotland and Fife
Mid Scotland and Fife (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Mid Scotland and Fife is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. 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...
.
He was one of three LibDem MSPs (along with Donald Gorrie
Donald Gorrie
Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland Region. He was also a Member of Parliament from 1997 until 2001, representing Edinburgh West....
and John Farquhar Munro
John Farquhar Munro
John Farquhar Munro is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and was the MSP for Ross, Skye and Inverness West from 1999 until his retirement in 2011....
) to oppose the coalition with 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...
in 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...
in 1999; and was alone in his LibDem colleagues in not backing 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...
for 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...
(he abstained from the vote) that year.
Raffan was re-elected at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election and he also became a Vice Convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. However, in December, 2004 he was subject to wide criticism for claiming abnormally large expense costs from the Scottish Parliament. The following month he resigned as an MSP, citing health reasons and not the controversy his expense claim had caused as the reason.
He was replaced by Andrew Arbuckle
Andrew Arbuckle
Andrew Arbuckle is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and a former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid Scotland and Fife region. He is a Fife councillor....
, who had been next on the Lib-Dem list for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2003.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats have confirmed to the press that Raffan is no longer a party member. He now lives in London, and is no longer associated with either of the two political parties that formed the basis of his parliamentary career.
External links
- Keith Raffan Keith Raffan stories on EdinburghSucks.com