Phil Gallie
Encyclopedia
Philip Roy Gallie was a British
politician who served as a Conservative
Member of Parliament
for Ayr
from 1992 to 1997 and Member of the Scottish Parliament
for the South of Scotland
region from 1999 to 2007. He was also an officeholder within the Scottish Conservative Party.
, Hampshire
and was educated at Dunfermline High School in Fife
. He trained as an electrical fitter before joining the CEGB
as a planning engineer. He rose to be a station manager before entering politics.
His political career began with being elected as a local councillor on Cunninghame
district council, which covered northern Ayrshire
and the Isle of Bute
.
at Westminster
for the Ayr
constituency in the 1992 general election
. He lost his seat, along with all other Conservatives in Scotland, at the 1997 general election
.
A vice-chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament
in 1999
. Gallie was elected to represent the South of Scotland
area as a list member, having narrowly failed to win the Ayr constituency seat
by 25 votes. Gallie again stood unsuccessfully for the Ayr Westminster seat in 2001, but was re-elected in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election
, again as a list member.
Gallie stood for the leadership of the Conservative group in the Scottish Parliament, but lost to David McLetchie
. He was the Scottish Conservative spokesman on constitutional affairs. He did not stand for re-election in 2007, intending to focus on his ambition of becoming a Member of the European Parliament
.
Gallie was initially selected to contest the United Kingdom general election, 2010 in the Ayrshire Central
constituency,
but Maurice Golden was eventually chosen as the election was not held until May 2010. Gallie was still active in politics when he died in January 2011, aged 71.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician who served as 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
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for Ayr
Ayr (UK Parliament constituency)
Ayr was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- History :...
from 1992 to 1997 and 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:...
for the South of Scotland
South of Scotland
South of Scotland can refer to:* South of Scotland * South of Scotland rugby union team* An area comprising the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway...
region from 1999 to 2007. He was also an officeholder within the Scottish Conservative Party.
Early life
Gallie was born in PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and was educated at Dunfermline High School in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. He trained as an electrical fitter before joining the CEGB
CEGB
The Central Electricity Generating Board was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 40 years; from 1957, to privatisation in the 1990s....
as a planning engineer. He rose to be a station manager before entering politics.
His political career began with being elected as a local councillor on Cunninghame
Cunninghame
Cunninghame is a former comital district of Scotland and also a district of the Strathclyde Region from 1975–1996.-Historic Cunninghame:The historic district of Cunninghame was bordered by the districts of Renfrew and Clydesdale to the north and east respectively, by the district of Kyle to the...
district council, which covered northern Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
and the Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
.
Parliamentary career
Gallie was elected as Member of ParliamentMember 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,...
at Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for the Ayr
Ayr (UK Parliament constituency)
Ayr was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- History :...
constituency 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...
. He lost his seat, along with all other Conservatives in Scotland, at 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...
.
A vice-chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, he was elected to 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
Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...
. Gallie was elected to represent the South of Scotland
South of Scotland
South of Scotland can refer to:* South of Scotland * South of Scotland rugby union team* An area comprising the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway...
area as a list member, having narrowly failed to win the Ayr constituency seat
Ayr (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Ayr is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
by 25 votes. Gallie again stood unsuccessfully for the Ayr Westminster seat in 2001, but was re-elected in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election
Scottish Parliament election, 2003
The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive...
, again as a list member.
Gallie stood for the leadership of the Conservative group in the Scottish Parliament, but lost to David McLetchie
David McLetchie
David McLetchie is a Scottish politician, currently a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian electoral region...
. He was the Scottish Conservative spokesman on constitutional affairs. He did not stand for re-election in 2007, intending to focus on his ambition of becoming a Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
.
Gallie was initially selected to contest the United Kingdom general election, 2010 in the Ayrshire Central
Central Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Central Ayrshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire council areas...
constituency,
but Maurice Golden was eventually chosen as the election was not held until May 2010. Gallie was still active in politics when he died in January 2011, aged 71.