Michael Connarty
Encyclopedia
Michael Connarty is a British
Labour Party
politician
, who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Linlithgow and Falkirk East
since 2005
, and a variation of the same seat since 1992.
. He was educated at the local Roman Catholic High School
(St. Patrick's) on Muiryhall Street in the year below fellow MP John Reid
. Like John Reid he then studied at the University of Stirling
, receiving a BA
in Economics in 1972, and where he was elected as the President of the Student Association from 1970-1 before going on to University of Glasgow
.
He then attended Jordanhill College
in Glasgow
where he received a Diploma in Childcare and Education (DCE) in 1975. He was a special needs teacher from 1976 until he was elected to the House of Commons in 1992. He was also an economics teacher at a secondary school. He became a councillor on the Stirling District Council in 1977, becoming its leader in 1980 until he left the council in 1990. He was a member of the Loch Lomond
, Trossachs
and Stirling
Tourist
Board 1981-1990. He also claims to have been a steelworker at one point.
at the 1983 General Election
but finished 5,133 behind the Conservative and Unionist
future Secretary of State for Scotland
Michael Forsyth
. Connarty faced Forsyth again at Stirling at the 1987 General Election
. Connarty came very close, but Forsyth was the eventual winner by a margin of just 548.
Michael Connarty was elected to Westminster at the 1992 General Election
for the Labour seat of Falkirk East
with a majority of 7,969 following the retirement of the sitting MP Harry Ewing. Connarty used his maiden speech
on 13 May 1992 to raise concerns about the fragility of the petrochemical
industry at Grangemouth
, the largest town in Falkirk East http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-05-13/Debate-5.html.
Following the 1997 General Election
he became the Parliamentary Private Secretary
the Minister of Film
and Tourism
Tom Clarke but this appointment lasted only until 1998 when Clarke was sacked from government. Connarty has spent his parliamentary career as a backbencher
and since 1998 has been a member of the European Scrutiny Select Committee, which is the committee responsible for scrutinising the legislation set by the European Parliament
. He speaks French
.
He is the chairman of the Tribune Group of left-wing Labour MPs and he served as a justice of the peace
1977-1990. Following the creation of the Scottish Parliament
in 1999, the Scottish
boundaries were redrawn and his constituency was enlarged and renamed as Linlithgow and East Falkirk
. Until he retired at the 2005 General Election
, Linlithgow
was represented at Westminster by the former Father of the House of Commons, Tam Dalyell
.
He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association
and is joint chair of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi326.htm and vice president of the National Youth Jazz Collective.
In November 2008, Connarty was one of 18 MPs who signed a Commons motion backing a Team GB football team at the 2012 Olympics, saying football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage". The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.
No. 1439 which called for censure a Celtic football club
player who had worn a T-shirt carrying with the words "God bless the Pope". The motion regretted that the action "could serve to heighten tension between players as well as supporter". The EDM had been tabled by MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party
, and Connarty was the first MP from outside Northern Ireland
to add his signature.
Connarty joined the forces of Ulster Unionism to support Early Day Motion 1439. The MPs who signed this motion were: Gregory Campbell; Iris and Peter Robinson; Dr. William McCrea; Jeffrey Donaldson; David Simpson; Nigel Dodds and Sammy Wilson.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, 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 Linlithgow and Falkirk East
Linlithgow and East Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency)
Linlithgow and East Falkirk is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for use in the 2005 general election...
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....
, and a variation of the same seat since 1992.
Early life
Michael Connarty was born in CoatbridgeCoatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
. He was educated at the local Roman Catholic High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
(St. Patrick's) on Muiryhall Street in the year below fellow MP John Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
. Like John Reid he then studied at the University of Stirling
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling is a campus university founded by Royal charter in 1967, on the Airthrey Estate in Stirling, Scotland.-History and campus development:...
, receiving a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Economics in 1972, and where he was elected as the President of the Student Association from 1970-1 before going on to University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
.
He then attended Jordanhill College
Jordanhill College
Jordanhill Campus, in Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, is now home to the Faculty of Education of the University of Strathclyde. Within the University of Strathclyde faculty of education, departments include Childhood and Primary Studies, Creative and Aesthetic Studies, Curricular Studies,...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
where he received a Diploma in Childcare and Education (DCE) in 1975. He was a special needs teacher from 1976 until he was elected to the House of Commons in 1992. He was also an economics teacher at a secondary school. He became a councillor on the Stirling District Council in 1977, becoming its leader in 1980 until he left the council in 1990. He was a member of the Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
, Trossachs
Trossachs
The Trossachs itself is a small woodland glen in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It lies between Ben A'an to the north and Ben Venue to the south, with Loch Katrine to the west and Loch Achray to the east. However, the name is used generally to refer to the wider area of wooded glens and...
and Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
Tourist
Tourism in Scotland
Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200,000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk of visitors to Scotland...
Board 1981-1990. He also claims to have been a steelworker at one point.
Parliamentary career
He unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary constituency of StirlingStirling (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirling is a county 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 system of election.-Boundaries:...
at 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...
but finished 5,133 behind the Conservative and Unionist
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
future Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
Michael Forsyth
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean
Michael Bruce Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean PC, Kt is a British financier and politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 1983 to 1997 and served in the cabinet of John Major as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1995 to 1997...
. Connarty faced Forsyth again at Stirling at the 1987 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
. Connarty came very close, but Forsyth was the eventual winner by a margin of just 548.
Michael Connarty was elected to Westminster at 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...
for the Labour seat of Falkirk East
Falkirk East (UK Parliament constituency)
Falkirk East was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It was largely replaced by Linlithgow and East Falkirk, with some of its territory going to the new Falkirk constituency....
with a majority of 7,969 following the retirement of the sitting MP Harry Ewing. Connarty used his maiden speech
Maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country...
on 13 May 1992 to raise concerns about the fragility of the petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
industry at Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
, the largest town in Falkirk East http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199293/cmhansrd/1992-05-13/Debate-5.html.
Following the 1997 General Election
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 became 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...
the Minister of Film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
Tom Clarke but this appointment lasted only until 1998 when Clarke was sacked from government. Connarty has spent his parliamentary career as a backbencher
Backbencher
In Westminster parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a Member of Parliament or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition...
and since 1998 has been a member of the European Scrutiny Select Committee, which is the committee responsible for scrutinising the legislation set by the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. He speaks French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
He is the chairman of the Tribune Group of left-wing Labour MPs and he served as a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
1977-1990. Following the creation 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...
in 1999, the 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...
boundaries were redrawn and his constituency was enlarged and renamed as Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Linlithgow and East Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency)
Linlithgow and East Falkirk is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for use in the 2005 general election...
. Until he retired at the 2005 General Election
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....
, Linlithgow
Linlithgow (UK Parliament constituency)
Linlithgow was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of elections....
was represented at Westminster by the former Father of the House of Commons, 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:...
.
He is a supporter of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
and is joint chair of the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
The All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group is a UK Parliamentary group with a membership of more than 100 MPs and Peers. Its stated purpose is to "To promote the use and enjoyment of jazz as a music form."...
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi326.htm and vice president of the National Youth Jazz Collective.
In November 2008, Connarty was one of 18 MPs who signed a Commons motion backing a Team GB football team at the 2012 Olympics, saying football "should not be any different from other competing sports and our young talent should be allowed to show their skills on the world stage". The football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are all opposed to a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.
Celtic football club
On 30 April 2008, Connarty signed Early Day MotionEarly day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
No. 1439 which called for censure a Celtic football club
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
player who had worn a T-shirt carrying with the words "God bless the Pope". The motion regretted that the action "could serve to heighten tension between players as well as supporter". The EDM had been tabled by MPs from the Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
, and Connarty was the first MP from outside Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
to add his signature.
Connarty joined the forces of Ulster Unionism to support Early Day Motion 1439. The MPs who signed this motion were: Gregory Campbell; Iris and Peter Robinson; Dr. William McCrea; Jeffrey Donaldson; David Simpson; Nigel Dodds and Sammy Wilson.