Russell Brown
Encyclopedia
Russell Leslie Brown is a Scottish Labour Party
politician
. He is Member of Parliament
for Dumfries and Galloway
.
, Scotland
, and attended the local Annan Academy
. In 1974 he began work as a plant operative at ICI
and remained with the company until his election to Westminster.
In October 2010 he was appointed to Labour's front bench team as a Shadow Defence Minister.
Regional Council, and was the Labour Group Leader 1995-1997, Between 1988 and 1996 he also served as a councillor on the Annandale and Eskdale
District Council.
He was selected to contest the seemingly safe Conservative and Unionist
seat of Dumfries
at the 1997 UK General Election
. The MP of 33 years, Hector Monro
retired and the Conservative and Unionist candidate was Struan Stevenson
. The Conservative Party was completely wiped out in Scotland in 1997, and Russell Brown was elected as the Labour MP for Dumfries with a majority of 9,643, and has remained an MP since. He made his maiden speech
on 7 July 1997.
Russell Brown became a Member of the Scottish Affairs
Select Committee in 1999, and left the committee after the 2001 General Election
. He was made a Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Leader of the House of Lords
Gareth Wyn Williams in 2002. When Williams died in 2003 and he continued in the same position with his successor Valerie Amos. In the major redistribution of Scottish seats, his constituency of Dumfries was abolished and the new seat of Dumfries and Galloway was created. At the 2005 General Election
he faced the sitting Conservative MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
Peter Duncan
. Brown was elected with a majority of 2,922. Following the election he became the PPS to the Secretary of State for Scotland
Alistair Darling
and his successor Jim Murphy
.
In the 2010 General Election Russell Brown was again challenged by Conservative Peter Duncan, who is now a councillor on Dumfries and Galloway Council. Despite Labour losing the election nationally, Russell Brown's local popularity meant he almost tripled his majority to 7,449.
In October 2010 Russell Brown was appointed to Labour's front bench as a Shadow Defence Minister. His brief is Shadow Minister for International Security Strategy.
and German
. Brown is a supporter of . He has appeared on television speaking about the club, and tabled an early day motion
in the House of Commons congratulating them on their reaching the semi-final of the 2008 Scottish Cup
.
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He is 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,...
for Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (UK Parliament constituency)
Dumfries and Galloway is a county constituency of in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was first used in the 2005 general election, and replaced Galloway and Upper Nithsdale and part of Dumfries, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...
.
Early years
Russell Brown was born in AnnanAnnan, Dumfries and Galloway
The royal burgh of Annan is a well-built town, red sandstone being the material mainly used. Each year in July, Annan celebrates the Royal Charter and the boundaries of the Royal Burgh are confirmed when a mounted cavalcade undertakes the Riding of the Marches. Entertainment includes a...
, Scotland
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...
, and attended the local Annan Academy
Annan Academy
Annan Academy is a secondary school in Annan, in Dumfries and Galloway, formerly Dumfriesshire, Scotland. The present school is the result of an amalgamation in 1921 of the original Annan Academy and Greenknowe Public School, although its history goes back to the 17th century.Behind the buildings...
. In 1974 he began work as a plant operative at ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
and remained with the company until his election to Westminster.
In October 2010 he was appointed to Labour's front bench team as a Shadow Defence Minister.
Political history
He was elected as a branch chairman within the Transport and General Workers Union 1979-1985. In 1986 he was elected as a councillor to the Dumfries and GallowayDumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...
Regional Council, and was the Labour Group Leader 1995-1997, Between 1988 and 1996 he also served as a councillor on the Annandale and Eskdale
Annandale and Eskdale
Annandale and Eskdale is a committee area in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It covers the areas of Annandale and Eskdale, the straths of the River Annan and the River Esk respectively....
District Council.
He was selected to contest the seemingly safe 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...
seat of Dumfries
Dumfriesshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Dumfriesshire was a county constituency represented in the of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 2005. It was known as Dumfries from 1950...
at the 1997 UK 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...
. The MP of 33 years, Hector Monro
Hector Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm
Hector Seymour Peter Monro, Baron Monro of Langholm, AE, PC , was a Conservative & Unionist Party politician. He was Member of Parliament for Dumfries for 33 years, from 1964 to 1997, and then a life peer in the House of Lords....
retired and the Conservative and Unionist candidate was Struan Stevenson
Struan Stevenson
Struan Stevenson is a Scottish politician. He is a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland and Vice Chair of the Committee on Fisheries, in addition to which, he is member of the Executive of the Scottish Conservative party.-Political career:Stevenson served his early political career as...
. The Conservative Party was completely wiped out in Scotland in 1997, and Russell Brown was elected as the Labour MP for Dumfries with a majority of 9,643, and has remained an MP since. He made 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 7 July 1997.
Russell Brown became a Member of the Scottish Affairs
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...
Select Committee in 1999, and left the committee after the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
. He was made a 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 the Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords
The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,...
Gareth Wyn Williams in 2002. When Williams died in 2003 and he continued in the same position with his successor Valerie Amos. In the major redistribution of Scottish seats, his constituency of Dumfries was abolished and the new seat of Dumfries and Galloway was created. 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....
he faced the sitting Conservative MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (UK Parliament constituency)
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system....
Peter Duncan
Peter Duncan (politician)
Peter John Duncan is a British politician. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale from 2001 to 2005.-Early life:...
. Brown was elected with a majority of 2,922. Following the election he became the PPS to the 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...
Alistair Darling
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...
and his successor Jim Murphy
Jim Murphy
James Francis "Jim" Murphy is a British Labour Party politician and is the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire....
.
In the 2010 General Election Russell Brown was again challenged by Conservative Peter Duncan, who is now a councillor on Dumfries and Galloway Council. Despite Labour losing the election nationally, Russell Brown's local popularity meant he almost tripled his majority to 7,449.
In October 2010 Russell Brown was appointed to Labour's front bench as a Shadow Defence Minister. His brief is Shadow Minister for International Security Strategy.
Personal life
He married Christine Margaret Calvert in 1973 and they have two daughters. He speaks FrenchFrench 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...
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Brown is a supporter of . He has appeared on television speaking about the club, and tabled an early day motion
Early 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...
in the House of Commons congratulating them on their reaching the semi-final of the 2008 Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup 2007-08
The 2007–08 Scottish Cup was the 123rd season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The winners were Rangers, who defeated Queen of the South in the final....
.