Mark Ballard
Encyclopedia
Mark Ballard is a former Member of the Scottish Parliament
for the Lothians region between 2003 and 2007, representing the Scottish Green Party
and was Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh
between 2006 and 2009. He is now Assistant Director of Barnardo's
in Scotland and was co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party
from 2007-10.
, England
on June 27, 1971. During his childhood he lived in Punjab
, India
(1973–1975) and Islamabad
, Pakistan
(1984–1985). He married Heather Stacey on 28 September 2002 and has two children, Adam, born in 2006 and Lucas born in 2009. He attends the Edinburgh Central Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
. His favourite pub in Edinburgh is the Southsider on West Richmond St, which in his words is "a proper cosy Edinburgh Pub, and it’s a micro-brewery too".
Comprehensive school in Leeds before going on to the University of Edinburgh
, where he gained an MA (Hons) in Economic and Social History. He is a life member of the Edinburgh University Union, part of the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA). In February 2006 he was elected Rector
of Edinburgh University (see below).
) in Edinburgh
and Amsterdam
. After this until 2001 he worked as editor of the journal Reforesting Scotland before setting up an environmental communications consultancy company that ran until 2003. After the 2007 election, Ballard became head of communications at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, before moving to become Assistant Director of Barnardo's
in Scotland.
when he was 15 and remained a member until 1991. At this point he became involved in the Scottish Green Party
's student movement. He ran as a candidate for this party in the 1995 council elections
, the 1999 Scottish Parliamentary election and a 2001 council by-election
. He was first elected in the 2003 Holyrood election, as the second Green MSP in the Lothians.
He was a member of the Scottish Parliament
Finance Committee http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/finance/index.htm and was also substitute member of the Enterprise and Culture Committee. He committed substantial time to promoting social enterprises and co-operatives, as a Green alternative to the current system. He also used the position to call for sustainable procurement guidelines, support ethical investment campaigns, and make the case for Scottish utilities being in public ownership.
As the Green speaker on Transport, Mark Ballard supported campaigns against the Dalkeith by-pass and the M74, for the trams in Edinburgh and for a better and cheaper public transport system. As a Lothians MSP he helped raise awareness of community initiatives such as the campaign to resist a huge superstore development in Portobello, supporting the calls for congestion charging in Edinburgh, assisting universities wanting to make the switch to Fairtrade and opposing tuition fees for students. The latter in particular helped him win support amongst Edinburgh's student community.
campaigning, most notably against British nuclear weapon
s on the River Clyde
at Faslane, against the release of Genetically modified organism
s and motorway construction through the group Earth First!
. He has been arrested at Faslane several times, as part of the CND 'Big Blockade', most recently in August 2004. He was involved in a long-running court case over the destruction of a field of rapeseed
at the Roslin Institute near Dalkeith
in 1999. [Although initially found guilty of "wilfully and recklessly" destroying plants belonging to Monsanto Company, all charges were quashed due to a delay in the hearing of the appeal, which Mr Ballard claimed was because the Crown was unable to provide relevant evidence.
He holds membership of a large number of organisations listed in his Register of Interest as Friends of the Earth
, Sustrans
, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
, Democratic Left Scotland
, Reforesting Scotland, Water of Leith Conservation Trust
, Friends of Inverleith Park, SSPCA
, Advocates for Animals
and Scottish Education and Action for Development. Until 2005 he was also an unpaid director of UK charity Seeds for Change, treasurer of the Scottish Environmental Festivals association and is on the editorial board of the Scottish Left Review
, a bi-monthly cross-party journal of the Scottish left.
, pro-Palestine
journalist John Pilger
and former Scotsman
editor Magnus Linklater
. The election received a high level of publicity mostly due to Boris Johnson's
candidature.
The election took place on the 15/16 February 2006, with a turn out of almost 8000. A system of Single Transferable Vote
was used. In the final round Mark Ballard received 3,597 votes against Magnus Linklater's 3,052 and was elected.
He was formally installed on 9 June 2006 in a ceremony in the University's Old College. Present at this ceremony were the Chancellor of the University, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, the University Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Timothy O'Shea
, and Mark Ballard's predecessor as Rector, Labour MP Tam Dalyell
. In this capacity he continues to work on issues of concern to students and university staff, including playing a prominent role in the movement which led to the complete abolishing of student tuition fees in Scotland in 2008.
He was succeeded as Rector in 2009 by journalist Iain Macwhirter
, whose campaign drew on many of Ballard's supporters.
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:...
for the Lothians region between 2003 and 2007, representing the Scottish Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
and was Lord Rector of 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...
between 2006 and 2009. He is now Assistant Director of Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
in Scotland and was co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
from 2007-10.
Personal life
Ballard was born in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on June 27, 1971. During his childhood he lived in Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(1973–1975) and Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
(1984–1985). He married Heather Stacey on 28 September 2002 and has two children, Adam, born in 2006 and Lucas born in 2009. He attends the Edinburgh Central Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
. His favourite pub in Edinburgh is the Southsider on West Richmond St, which in his words is "a proper cosy Edinburgh Pub, and it’s a micro-brewery too".
Education
He attended LawnswoodLawnswood
Lawnswood is a small suburb in the north west of the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. As such it is north north east of the West Yorkshire Urban Area.- Location :It is bordered by West Park, Adel, Ireland Wood and Holt Park...
Comprehensive school in Leeds before going on to 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...
, where he gained an MA (Hons) in Economic and Social History. He is a life member of the Edinburgh University Union, part of the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA). In February 2006 he was elected Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Edinburgh University (see below).
Career outside politics
Between 1994 and 1998 he worked for European Youth Forest Action (now European Youth For ActionEuropean Youth For Action
European Youth For Action is an environmental youth network in Europe. It is based in Amsterdam and has partner organizations in 18 European countries.-History:...
) in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. After this until 2001 he worked as editor of the journal Reforesting Scotland before setting up an environmental communications consultancy company that ran until 2003. After the 2007 election, Ballard became head of communications at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, before moving to become Assistant Director of Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
in Scotland.
Political career
He joined the youth wing of the Labour PartyLabour 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...
when he was 15 and remained a member until 1991. At this point he became involved in the Scottish Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
's student movement. He ran as a candidate for this party in the 1995 council elections
Elections in the United Kingdom
There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: United Kingdom general elections, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday...
, the 1999 Scottish Parliamentary election and a 2001 council by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. He was first elected in the 2003 Holyrood election, as the second Green MSP in the Lothians.
He was a member of 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...
Finance Committee http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/finance/index.htm and was also substitute member of the Enterprise and Culture Committee. He committed substantial time to promoting social enterprises and co-operatives, as a Green alternative to the current system. He also used the position to call for sustainable procurement guidelines, support ethical investment campaigns, and make the case for Scottish utilities being in public ownership.
As the Green speaker on Transport, Mark Ballard supported campaigns against the Dalkeith by-pass and the M74, for the trams in Edinburgh and for a better and cheaper public transport system. As a Lothians MSP he helped raise awareness of community initiatives such as the campaign to resist a huge superstore development in Portobello, supporting the calls for congestion charging in Edinburgh, assisting universities wanting to make the switch to Fairtrade and opposing tuition fees for students. The latter in particular helped him win support amongst Edinburgh's student community.
Campaigning work
He has also been involved in direct actionDirect action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
campaigning, most notably against British nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s on the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
at Faslane, against the release of Genetically modified organism
Genetically modified organism
A genetically modified organism or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one...
s and motorway construction through the group Earth First!
Earth First!
Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....
. He has been arrested at Faslane several times, as part of the CND 'Big Blockade', most recently in August 2004. He was involved in a long-running court case over the destruction of a field of rapeseed
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
at the Roslin Institute near Dalkeith
Dalkeith
Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...
in 1999. [Although initially found guilty of "wilfully and recklessly" destroying plants belonging to Monsanto Company, all charges were quashed due to a delay in the hearing of the appeal, which Mr Ballard claimed was because the Crown was unable to provide relevant evidence.
He holds membership of a large number of organisations listed in his Register of Interest as Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
, Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
, Democratic Left Scotland
Democratic Left Scotland
Democratic Left Scotland is the continuation in Scotland of Democratic Left, the organisation formed when the Communist Party of Great Britain was dissolved in 1991...
, Reforesting Scotland, Water of Leith Conservation Trust
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith is the main river flowing through Edinburgh, Scotland, to the port of Leith where it flows into the sea via the Firth of Forth.It is long and rises in the Colzium Springs at Millstone Rig of the Pentland Hills...
, Friends of Inverleith Park, SSPCA
Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a charity to promote animal welfare in Scotland. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1839 and one of its first aims was to improve the welfare of cart-horses...
, Advocates for Animals
Advocates for Animals
OneKind is a campaigning animal welfare charity based in Edinburgh and operating worldwide. The organisation works through high-profile public campaigns, political lobbying, investigations, formal research and public education....
and Scottish Education and Action for Development. Until 2005 he was also an unpaid director of UK charity Seeds for Change, treasurer of the Scottish Environmental Festivals association and is on the editorial board of the Scottish Left Review
Scottish Left Review
The Scottish Left Review is a bi-monthly publication of the political-left in Scotland. Established in 2000 by several figures of the Scottish left including Henry McCubbin, Jimmy Reid, Roseanna Cunningham and John McAllion it collects articles on a number of issues written by various individuals...
, a bi-monthly cross-party journal of the Scottish left.
Rector of the University of Edinburgh
In February 2006 he stood for election as Rector the University of Edinburgh standing against MP Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
, pro-Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
journalist John Pilger
John Pilger
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist and documentary maker, based in London. He has twice won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award, and his documentaries have received academy awards in Britain and the US....
and former 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....
editor Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater
Magnus Linklater is a Scottish journalist and former newspaper editor.-Life:Linklater was born in Orkney, and is the son of Scottish writer Eric Linklater. He was brought up in Easter Ross, attending the local school at Nigg before moving to high school in Dunbar, East Lothian, and then on to Eton...
. The election received a high level of publicity mostly due to Boris Johnson's
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
candidature.
The election took place on the 15/16 February 2006, with a turn out of almost 8000. A system of Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote
The single transferable vote is a voting system designed to achieve proportional representation through preferential voting. Under STV, an elector's vote is initially allocated to his or her most preferred candidate, and then, after candidates have been either elected or eliminated, any surplus or...
was used. In the final round Mark Ballard received 3,597 votes against Magnus Linklater's 3,052 and was elected.
He was formally installed on 9 June 2006 in a ceremony in the University's Old College. Present at this ceremony were the Chancellor of the University, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, the University Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Timothy O'Shea
Timothy O'Shea
Sir Timothy Michael Martin O'Shea, FRSE is the current Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The University of Edinburgh.-Biography:...
, and Mark Ballard's predecessor as Rector, Labour MP Tam Dalyell
Tam Dalyell
Sir Thomas Dalyell Loch, 11th Baronet , known as Tam Dalyell, is a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons from 1962 to 2005, first for West Lothian and then for Linlithgow.-Early life:...
. In this capacity he continues to work on issues of concern to students and university staff, including playing a prominent role in the movement which led to the complete abolishing of student tuition fees in Scotland in 2008.
He was succeeded as Rector in 2009 by journalist 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 :...
, whose campaign drew on many of Ballard's supporters.
External links
Articles by Mark Ballard
- [Charities face tough times while businesses get aid, "The Herald" http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/featuresopinon/display.var.2521798.0.Charities_face_tough_times_while_businesses_get_aid.php]
- [Can Local tax Ever be Fair?, "Scottish Left Review" http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/images/stories/pdf/slr-544-SLRI38.pdf]
- [Vote for us! "Scottish Left Review" http://www.slrp.co.uk/test1/images/stories/pdf/slr-820-SLRI39.pdf]