The Right Honourable David Mundell WS MP |
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Secretary of State for Scotland | |
Assumed office 11 May 2015 |
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Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Alistair Carmichael |
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | |
In office 11 May 2010 – 11 May 2015 |
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Prime Minister | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Ann McKechin |
Succeeded by | The Lord Dunlop |
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | |
In office 7 December 2005 – 11 May 2010 |
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Leader | David Cameron |
Preceded by | Eleanor Laing |
Succeeded by | Jim Murphy |
Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale |
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Assumed office 5 May 2005 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Majority | 798 (1.5%) |
Member of Scottish Parliament for South of Scotland |
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In office 6 May 1999 – 5 May 2005 |
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Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Derek Brownlee |
Personal details | |
Born | Dumfries, Scotland |
27 May 1962
Political party | Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Lynda Carmichael |
Children | 2 sons 1 daughter |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh University of Strathclyde |
Religion | Presbyterianism |
Website | Official website |
David Gordon Mundell (born 27 May 1962) is a Scottish solicitor, Conservative politician and UK Government Minister, serving as Secretary of State for Scotland since 2015. Mundell is the first Conservative to hold the position since Michael Forsyth in 1997.
Mundell represents the Scottish constituency of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale since 2005 and currently is the sole Scottish Conservative member of parliament in the House of Commons.
He was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland following the 2015 general election,[1] having previously served as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland from 2010 to 2015.[2]
Contents
Background[edit]
Born in Dumfries, Mundell grew up in Newton Wamphray and Lockerbie. He attended Lockerbie Academy before reading Law at the University of Edinburgh (MA), also gaining a Diploma in Legal Practice (Dip LP).[3] After further studies, he graduated from Strathclyde Business School as MBA.
Having become a Young Conservative aged 14, he switched to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) while at university in 1981. In 2002, he stated: "the first Thatcher Government did get a bit bogged down and it wasn't really the radical government that subsequently emerged,... And the fact that you had a completely new opportunity to wipe the slate clean, with no baggage, was a very attractive thing".[4]
He practised as a solicitor before joining BT as Group Legal Advisor for Scotland in 1991. He became BT Scotland's Head of National Affairs, remaining with BT until being elected as an MSP. Mundell served as a Social Democratic Party (SDP) Councillor for Annandale and Eskdale from 1984–86 and then for Dumfries and Galloway until 1987, while a postgraduate student.
Mundell has been appointed a Writer to the Signet (WS) and is a member of the Law Society of Scotland.
Parliamentary career[edit]
Scottish Parliament[edit]
Mundell was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and 2003 as a "list" MSP for the South of Scotland.
House of Commons[edit]
In the 2005 general election, Mundell was elected as MP for the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency.[5] Following his election to Westminster, Mundell resigned from the Scottish Parliament in June 2005. His seat was taken by Derek Brownlee, who was next on the Conservative's South of Scotland candidate list.[6] As the sole Conservative Scottish parliamentary representative, David Cameron (as Leader of HM Opposition) appointed him Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland in December 2005.
Mundell was among the 18 MPs (either Scottish or representing Scottish constituencies) who supported the Commons Motion stating 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", thereby endorsing the idea of Team GB entering a British football team in the London 2012 Olympics. Football's governing bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland oppose a Great Britain team, fearing it would stop them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.[7]
Mundell represented the Scottish Conservative Party at the three Scottish Leaders' Debates broadcast on ITV1, Sky News and BBC1 during the 2010 general election campaign.
Government minister[edit]
Prior to the 2010 general election, Mundell served as the Conservative Shadow Scottish Secretary. Following that election, the Conservative Party formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. He held the non-cabinet role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, since the office of Secretary of State for Scotland was given to Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander (then Michael Moore), in view of the Liberal Democrats' greater representation of Scottish seats. On 9 June 2010 Mundell was appointed a Privy Councillor.[8][9]
Mundell was returned to parliament at the 2015 general election with a much reduced majority of 798 (1.5%), although the Conservative Party's share of the vote increased by 1.8%.[10]
Following the Conservative Party's success at the 2015 general election, Mundell succeeded Alistair Carmichael as Secretary of State for Scotland in HM Government. He remains the only Conservative MP to represent a Scottish constituency in the parliament elected in 2015.
Constituency issues[edit]
Following his decision to open a food bank, Mundell was escorted away from an angry anti-austerity demonstration in his constituency by police.[11] John Dennis, local Trades Union Congress (TUC) Secretary said:
He was a supporter of the coalition government, which imposed monumental public sector cuts, and he is now a member the Conservative Government of David Cameron, which has announced huge welfare benefit cuts. He has thus supported policies which have increased the level of poverty both locally in Dumfries and throughout the rest of the country. How can he have the nerve to open a food bank? Food banks should simply not exist in a civilised society.[12]
Mundell himself said that
Foodbanks however are a common feature in all major western countries. Wealthy countries like Germany have foodbanks so the issues and reasons behind them are complicated... It would be much better if we could all work together to tackle those than being in constant confrontation.[12]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Election 2015: David Mundell named new secretary of state for Scotland". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09.
- ^ www.parliament.uk
- ^ www.scottishlaw.org.uk
- ^ "David Torrance: Mutual respect is crucial as Tories bid to govern Scotland". scotsman.com.
- ^ "BBC NEWS – UK – UK Election 2005 – Scotland – Conservatives hail lone success". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC NEWS – UK – Scotland – Tory MSP takes place in chamber". bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "GB football tops Olympic agenda". BBC. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ "Privy Council appointments, 9 June 2010". Privy Council. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "Privy Counsellors". Privy Council Office. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ Haswell, Alex (8 May 2015). "UK Parliamentary Elections Results 2015 for the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and". dumgal.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- "Election 2015: Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
- ^ Auslan Cramb (24 July 2015). "Scotland's only Tory MP heckled at foodbank opening". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ a b David Mundell opens Dumfries foodbank amid protests BBC South Scotland (24 July 2015)
External links[edit]
- David Mundell MP official constituency website
- Debrett's People of Today bio
- David Mundell Conservative Party profile
- David Mundell MP Scottish Conservative Party profile
- Dumfries & Galloway Conservatives
- www.parliament.uk
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile at Westminster Parliamentary Record
- Profile at BBC News Democracy Live
Scottish Parliament | ||
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New constituency | Member of the Scottish Parliament for South of Scotland 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by Derek Brownlee |
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
New constituency | Member of Parliament for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 2005–present |
Incumbent |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by Eleanor Laing |
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland 2005–2010 |
Succeeded by Jim Murphy |
Preceded by Ann McKechin |
Under-Secretary of State for Scotland 2010–2015 |
Succeeded by The Lord Dunlop |
Preceded by Alistair Carmichael |
Secretary of State for Scotland 2015–present |
Incumbent |
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