Christine Grahame (formerly Creech; born 9 September 1944) is a Scottish politician who served as a
Deputy Presiding Officer of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital ...
from 2016 to 2021. A member of the
Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency since
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, having previously represented the
South of Scotland region from
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
to 2011.
Born in
Staffordshire, England, and raised in
Edinburgh, Scotland, she attended the
University of Edinburgh and
Moray House College of Education
The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the C ...
. After graduating, Grahame worked as an English teacher in secondary schools. In 1984, she graduated from the Edinburgh University again, but this time with a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
degree. After gaining
Diploma in Legal Practice
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
she worked as a
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
. Grahame was the SNP's candidate for
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale in the
1992 UK General election
The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and would be the last ti ...
, but failed to win the seat. In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
, she ran for equivalent constituency in the new
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital ...
. Although she was unsuccessful, she was elected as an
additional member of the
South of Scotland region.
Grahame ran for
Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party in the
2004 leadership election, but was defeated by
Nicola Sturgeon. In
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, she was elected MSP for
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. Following the
2016 election to the
5th Scottish Parliament
This is a list of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election, 73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a ...
, Grahame was elected Deputy Presiding Officer. She held the position alongside
Linda Fabiani
Linda Fabiani (born 14 December 1956) HonFRIAS OSSI FCIH is a Scottish politician who served as a Deputy Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the Member of the ...
from 2016 until 2021. She has served on the
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body since May 2021.
Early life and education
Christine Grahame was born on 9 September 1944 in
Burton-on-Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...
,
Staffordshire, England, to a Scottish father and English mother. Her maternal grandfather was Welsh. Grahame was brought up in
Edinburgh, attending
Boroughmuir High School
Boroughmuir High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Buildings
It was founded in 1904, and located at 22–24 Warrender Park Crescent, overlooking Bruntsfield Links, in a building designed by John Alexan ...
.
She attained a
Scottish Master of Arts degree from the
University of Edinburgh in 1965 and gained her
Diploma of Education from
Moray House College of Education
The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the C ...
in 1966. After graduating, Grahame worked as a secondary teacher of English in a number of schools in Fife and Dumfries and Galloway.
After a period as a housewife, she returned to Edinburgh University as a
mature student
An adult learner or, more commonly, a mature student, is a person who is older and is involved in forms of learning. Adult learners fall in a specific criterion of being experienced, and do not always have a high school diploma. Many of the adult ...
where she earned a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
degree in 1984 and a
Diploma in Legal Practice
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
in 1985, subsequently practising as a solicitor at a number of law firms until her election as an MSP in 1999.
Political career
Grahame joined the
Scottish National Party in 1970. Using her married name, Christine Creech, she was the SNP candidate at the
1992 General Election for
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale. In 1994 she stood for election to the
European Parliament, again unsuccessfully. At the
1999 Scottish Parliament election she ran for the equivalent constituency.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Although she finished second, her position on the SNP regional list took her to
Holyrood, after which she divorced and reverted to her maiden name. She contested Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale at the 2003 and 2007 elections, coming within 1,000 votes of victory on both occasions and being subsequently elected on the regional South of Scotland list. From 2001 to 2003, she was Convener of the
Justice Committee.
In 2004, Grahame ran as a candidate for deputy leadership of the
SNP after deputy leader
Roseanna Cunningham
Roseanna Cunningham (born 27 July 1951) is a retired Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform from 2016 to 2021. She was previously Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work ...
entered the contest to replace leader
John Swinney
John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland since 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery since 2021. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from ...
. She was defeated by
Nicola Sturgeon. After the election, she was reshuffled from chair of the Scottish Parliament's Health committee to Shadow Minister for Social Justice, generally seen by media commentators as an upwards shift. In June 2005, she was elected Honorary President of the
Federation of Student Nationalists.
In the
2011 Scottish Parliament election
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...
, Grahame won the redrawn seat of
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, defeating former Liberal Democrat finance spokesman
Jeremy Purvis
Jeremy Purvis, Baron Purvis of Tweed (born 15 January 1974) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale from 2003 to 2011. In August 2013 it was announced ...
. Following her election, she was again selected as Convener of the Justice Committee for the session.
Deputy Presiding Officer
In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electio ...
, Grahame held the seat, increasing her share of the vote to 45.1%. Following the 2016 election, she was elected as
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, serving alongside
Linda Fabiani MSP. Grahame was also re-elected as Convener of the Cross Party Group on Animal Welfare. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, she went into self isolation as someone over 70 years old and therefore at more risk of developing severe
COVID-19 symptoms. In April 2020,
Scottish Labour's
Lewis Macdonald
Roderick Lewis Macdonald (born 1 January 1957) is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region between 2011 and 2021. A member of Scottish Labour, he previously represented the Ab ...
was elected as interim Deputy Presiding Officer in her absence.
Return to backbenches
In the
2021 Scottish Parliament election
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...
Grahame was re-elected as an MSP. She has served on the
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body since May 2021.
Causes
Since entering the Scottish Parliament in 1999 Grahame has picked up a number of causes, notably;
Borders Railway
''For more information see:
Borders Railway
The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
''
One of Grahame's first actions as an MSP in 1999 was to set up a Cross Party Group to support the work of public petitions on the re-establishment of the
Borders Railway
The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
which had been closed in 1969 during the controversial
Beeching cuts
The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...
. She continued to campaign for this for a number of years, with the line eventually opening between Edinburgh and Tweedbank in 2015.
Grahame has named her continued support of this as one of her biggest achievements and said on its opening “As someone who has campaigned for the return of the Waverley Line since 1999, it was an absolute privilege to be have finally traveled the length of the journey by rail, and to appreciate our wonderful countryside from a new perspective. So far this project has been an overwhelming success... If my experience is anything to go by, this will undoubtedly bring many, many visitors to Midlothian and the Borders as well as encouraging people to stay and live in the area.”
Great Tapestry of Scotland
In late 2015 Grahame became involved in a public dispute with Scottish Borders Council over the siting of the
Great Tapestry of Scotland
The Great Tapestry of Scotland is one of the world's largest community arts projects, hand stitched by 1,000 people from across Scotland. It is made up of 160 linen panels and 300 miles of wool – enough to stretch the entire length of Scotland ...
in the constituency. Councillors had approved a £6m purpose built visitor centre at
Tweedbank Railway Station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Tweedbank station (2).jpg
, borough = Tweedbank, Scottish Borders
, country = Scotland
, coordinates =
, map_type = Scotland Scottish Borders
, map_caption = Location in Scottish Borders, ...
, however Grahame contested that the business case was flawed and persuaded Scottish Government ministers to investigate this further before releasing the funding required to create it. Grahame favoured siting the tapestry in a disused building in Galashiels arguing that that option had more potential to regenerate the area and encourage tourists to access transport links from Galashiels to the wider region.
In June 2016 one councillor resigned from the SNP over Grahame's intervention, claiming it represented a "lack of support" for SNP councillors and that he had not voted for her in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.
However, Grahame's position was eventually vindicated, with the council recommending Galashiels as the preferred site in December 2016 stating "Galashiels offers the greatest potential to provide a world class attraction which will make a significant contribution to the Borders economy.”
Lockerbie Bombing
Grahame has been outspoken in her view that the conviction of
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Tripoli, Kingdom of Libya
, death_date =
, death_place = Tripoli, Libya
, cause = Prostate cancer
, nationality = Libyan
, race = Arab
, g ...
of the 1988
Lockerbie bombing
Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
is unsafe and represents a miscarriage of justice. In May 2009, Grahame visited Megrahi, in
Greenock jail. After her visit, she told the press: "I found it quite upsetting. The man is obviously very ill and he is desperate to see his family – absolutely desperate to see his family – so, whatever it takes, that's the priority. He did tell me things I can't discuss with you. But I am absolutely more convinced than ever that there has been a
miscarriage of justice." A month later, Grahame arranged a second meeting with the prisoner, Megrahi.
A few days after the dropping of Megrahi's appeal against conviction and his
release on compassionate grounds on 20 August 2009, Grahame wrote an
op-ed article for ''
The Independent'' saying she is convinced of his innocence: "He is not a saint, of course – he had a history with Libyan intelligence – but his hands are clean over Lockerbie."
Grahame has lodged several questions and motions on this in the Scottish Parliament and continues to be involved with campaign groups on the matter.
Republicanism
Grahame is a supporter of the political organisation
Republic, a campaign to replace the
British Monarchy
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
with an elected head of state. In July 2009, Grahame snubbed
Elizabeth II by checking her e-mails rather than attending the royal speech at Holyrood to mark the tenth anniversary of
Scottish devolution
Devolution is the process in which the central British parliament grants administrative powers (excluding principally reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish Par ...
. The move drew some criticism from commentators and fellow MSPs, however on the BBC Radio ''
Good Morning Scotland
''Good Morning Scotland'' ( gd, Madainn Mhath Alba) is a Scottish breakfast radio news programme. It is broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland weekdays from 06:00 to 09:00. Established in 1973, it is the longest-running radio show broadcast from Scotl ...
'' programme, Grahame stated: "I'm earning and working for my constituents far more than if I sit hypocritically in the chamber watching a monarch for an institution I do not support."
Personal life
Grahame has two sons and is a grandmother. She has stated previously she has a harmless neurological
tremor, which is hereditary and can cause visible shaking.
References
External links
*
Christine Grahame MSPpersonal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahame, Christine
1944 births
Living people
People from Burton upon Trent
Politicians from Edinburgh
Scottish republicans
Anglo-Scots
Scottish solicitors
Scottish schoolteachers
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Scottish National Party MSPs
Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026
Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament
Female members of the Scottish Parliament
20th-century Scottish women politicians
Scottish people of English descent
Scottish people of Welsh descent
People educated at Boroughmuir High School