Mike Watson
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Michael Goodall Watson, Baron Watson of Invergowrie, known as Mike Watson, (born 1 May 1949) is a former Scottish Labour Party politician. He has sat in three legislatures in the United Kingdom and served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport in the Scottish Executive Cabinet.
He was expelled from his party on 22 September 2005 following his conviction and imprisonment for fire-raising. He now sits as an Independent Labour member of the House of Lords and is employed by lobby firm Caledonia Consulting.
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[edit] Early life
Watson was born in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, but his family moved to Invergowrie, Perth and Kinross when he was very young. He was educated at the High School of Dundee and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, graduating with a B.A. in Economics and Industrial Relations (1974).
Prior to entering politics he worked in the trade union movement, for the Workers' Educational Association, the Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (ASTMS) and the Manufacturing, Science and Finance union (MSF).
[edit] In politics
Watson was elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in a 1989 by-election for the Glasgow Central constituency. He was re-elected in the 1992 election and represented that constituency until it was abolished in 1997. He sought the nomination from the Labour party to run for the Govan seat in 1997, but after initially winning the nomination by one vote, he lost a re-run to Mohammad Sarwar, after which Watson received a Life peerage as Baron Watson of Invergowrie, of Invergowrie in Perth and Kinross.
In 1999 he was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent the Glasgow Cathcart constituency and was re-elected in 2003. On 20 July 1999 Watson announced his intention to introduce the Protection of Wild Mammals bill as a member's bill to the Scottish Parliament to outlaw fox hunting. The bill passed a vote 83 - 26 on 13 February 2002 and received Royal Assent on 15 March, becoming the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 and becoming law on 1 August. This was a precursor to the Hunting Act 2004 banning fox hunting in England and Wales.
When Jack McConnell became First Minister in 2001, Watson entered the Scottish Executive as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, but he was replaced after the 2003 election.
[edit] Fire-raising conviction
On 15 November 2004, Watson was charged with two counts of "wilful fire-raising" (the Scots law equivalent of arson) after a private reception at Edinburgh's Prestonfield Hotel following the Scottish Politician of the Year awards on 12 November. The first alleged that he set fire to a curtain in the hotel's reception, and the second that he set fire to a curtain in the hotel's Yellow Room. On being charged, the Labour whip was suspended in the Holyrood and Westminster parliaments. After initially registering not guilty pleas to both charges on 23 August 2005, on 1 September he changed his plea on the first count to guilty, and had a not guilty plea accepted on the second charge, though he claimed that as he had been drunk at the time, he had no recollection of the events. On the same day that Watson admitted his guilt, he resigned from the Scottish Parliament. He also resigned as a director of Dundee United Football Club.
However, it is not possible for a life peer to resign from the House of Lords, which has led to calls for legislation to enable those peers convicted of criminal offences to be stripped of their titles. Such legislation was last proposed following the conviction of Jeffrey Archer for perjury in 2001, but was then rejected.
On 22 September 2005, Lord Watson was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment. He will be prevented from standing again as an MSP, having received a custodial sentence exceeding one year. Sheriff Kathrine Mackie justified the sentence, stating that there was both "a significant risk of re-offending" and that Watson offered no mitigation or explanation. She also told Watson that consumption of alcohol "neither excuses nor fully explains your behavior." Watson appealed against his sentence on 23 March 2006 but the appeal judges refused to cut the term, and he was returned to prison.
After serving eight months of his sentence, he was released on 23 May 2006.
[edit] Bibliography
- Watson, Mike (1985). Rags to Riches: The official history of Dundee United. David Winter & Sons, Dundee ISBN 0-902804-18-
- Watson, Mike (2001). Year Zero: An Inside View of the Scottish Parliament. Polygon at Edinburgh. ISBN 1-902930-26-6.
[edit] External links
- Labour suspends charged peer - Gerard Seenan writing for the Guardian (published 15 November 2004)
- MSP charged after blaze claims - at Evening Times Online (published 15 November 2004)
- Peer pleads guilty to fire charge - at BBC News online (published 1 September 2005)
- Fire-raising peer sent to prison - at BBC News online (published 22 September 2005)
- Lord Watson jailed for 16 months - Alan McEwen writing for Evening News (published 22 September 2005)
- Arsonist peer jailed for 16 months - Sam Knight writing for The Times (published 22 September 2005)
- Appeal announced on duration of sentence - from The Scotsman Mon 12 Dec 2005 by John Innes
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert McTaggart |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Central 1989–1997 |
Succeeded by (constituency abolished) |
| Scottish Parliament | ||
| Preceded by Constituency created |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Cathcart 1999–2005 |
Succeeded by Charlie Gordon |
| Preceded by Office Created |
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Frank McAveety |
