| Ian Davidson MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West Glasgow Pollok (1997–2005) |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1 May 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Jimmy Dunnachie |
| Majority | 14,671 (46.2%) |
| Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan |
|
| In office 9 April 1992 – 1 May 1997 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Sillars |
| Succeeded by | Mohammad Sarwar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 September 1950 Jedburgh, Roxburghshire |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party | Labour Co-operative |
| Spouse(s) | Morag Mackinnon{ |
Ian Graham Davidson (born 8 September 1950) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow South West since 2005. Davidson previously worked as a Community Service Manager and for Janey Buchan when she was a Member of the European Parliament.
Davidson is currently the Chairman of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.[1]
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He has been an MP since 1992, originally for the seat of Glasgow Govan and, following boundary changes, for Glasgow Pollok from 1997 to 2005. After further major boundary changes across Scotland, Davidson stood in the 2005 general election for the new constituency of Glasgow South West, where he won the second biggest swing to Labour in Scotland. He is a member of the Public Accounts Select Committee and has lobbied to support the Scottish shipbuilding industry. He is also secretary of the influential Trade Union Group of Labour MPs.
In 2002 he criticised Prince Michael of Kent for 'squatting' in Kensington Palace. More recently he has criticised the Prince of Wales over his personal finances. He was the chair of Labour Against the Euro before it ceased campaigning following the 2003 decision by Gordon Brown that the five economic tests for Britain to join the euro had not been met.
During the debate in the House of Commons over the decision whether to have a referendum over the EU Treaty of Lisbon (5 March 2008), Davidson drew jeers from his Labour colleagues for branding New Labour supporters "Maoists and Trotskyists". Davidson was putting forward the case for disobeying the party line and voting for a referendum.
He is now Chair of the Centre for a Social Europe,[2] a pro-EU but mildly eurosceptic left-of-centre think tank. He has been a member of the Scotland Office Select Committee since the 2005 General Election.
From 1973 to 1974, Davidson was Chair of the National Organisation of Labour Students.[3]
He is also a supporter of Republic, a campaign to replace the British Monarchy with an elected head of state.[4]
Davidson accused the Scottish Nationalists of "narrow neo-fascism". The choice of language resulted in the Labour Party distancing itself from Mr Davidson's comments, saying the use of the word "neo-fascist" was unacceptable, even in the heat of debate,[5] and prompted many in the Scottish National Party (SNP) - the Governing party in Scotland - to call on him to resign as chair of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.[6]
On 25 October 2011 it emerged that Clerks appointed to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee had raised concerns with the Clerk of Committees, the most senior official responsible for House of Commons Select Committees, alleging that Ian Davidson had threatened to inflict "a doing" upon fellow committee member Eilidh Whiteford, in the event that details of the committee's discussions during a private session were leaked to the media. Following the allegations Dr Whiteford withdrew from the committee and a formal complaint was made by the SNP Parliamentary Leader, Angus Robertson, to the Speaker of the House.[7]
At the next session of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee on 26 October, Davidson made a public apology "for any offense that might have been caused" by his remarks; simultaneously denying that the remarks had been in any way threatening.[8]
Committee members present had suggested that "Davidson may have apologised to Dr Whiteford for the other members of the committee “giving her a doing” over independence". However, the remarks were allegedly regarded by another committee member at the time as being sufficiently inappropriate to warrant a note, expressing such concerns, to be passed to Davidson.[9]
However Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative committee members all stated that no threats were made.[10][11][12][13] With fellow committee member Fiona Bruce stating that she did not hear any threats, merely a political debate and Alan Reid stating that he also did not hear any threats being made and was surprised that the issue was raised six days later.[10] After an investigation the Labour Party stated that it amounted to a "smear campaign" against Davidson due to the forthcoming investigations chaired by Davidson into the SNP's referendum proposal.[14] Several equality campaigners and academics have criticised Davidson for using inappropriate language,[15] although Sandra Osborne, a Labour MP and former Womens Aid counsellor, criticised Whiteford for equating political debating with violence against women.[12]
A member of the SNP politican Joan McAlpine's staff, Gail Lythgoe, was found to have emailed a Women's equality group, supporting Whiteford and alleging that Davidson has a history of bullying Women and called on them to demonstrate against him whilst asking them not to reveal SNP involvement in it's instigation.[16][17] The email was later leaked and Lythgoe publicly apologised for making unsubstantiated allegations, with the Labour Party alleging that this was a result of an SNP "dirty tricks campaign" against Davidson and called for an investigation.[16]
During the 2009-10 Expenses Scandal, it emerged that Davidson claimed £87,699 in the four years to 2007; only £30 below the maximum permitted. He has since admitted that he wished he had a larger mortgage on his London flat to allow him to claim more in allowances.[18]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jim Sillars |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan 1992–1997 |
Succeeded by Mohammad Sarwar |
| Preceded by Jimmy Dunnachie |
Member of Parliament for Glasgow Pollok 1997–2005 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Glasgow South West 2005–present |
Incumbent |
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