Sir David Hamilton (born 24 October 1950) is a

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

from

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Background

David Hamilton was born in

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...

, Midlothian, and was educated at the local

Dalkeith High School Dalkeith High School is a secondary state school located in Dalkeith, Midlothian, Scotland. History Dalkeith High School was previously the historic Dalkeith Grammar School. A list of masters of the Grammar School at Dalkeith (located on the Hig ...

. In 1965, on leaving school, he worked as a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

with the National Coal Board for nineteen years, and remained a member of the National Union of Mineworkers until 1988. He was

jailed A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...

for two months during the 1980s miners' strike. This was for the alleged assault on a Dalkeith man and, although bail was denied many times, he was acquitted at trial. Hamilton later claimed he had been "fitted up" by the police and security services. He worked as an employment training supervisor with Midlothian District Council for two years from 1987, and was appointed as a placement officer for the Craigmillar Festival Society in 1989, becoming the chief executive of

Craigmillar Craigmillar ( gd, Creag a' Mhuilleir, IPA: �kʰʲɾʲekˈaˈvɯʎɪɾʲ, from the Gaelic ''Creag Maol Ard'', meaning 'High Bare Rock', is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, about south east of the city centre, with Duddingston to the north and ...

Opportunities 1992–2000.

Political career

He was elected as a Midlothian Councillor in 1995, serving for six years. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 2001 general election for Midlothian following the retirement of Eric Clarke. Hamilton held the seat with a majority of 9,014 before deciding to step down before the 2015 general election. He made his maiden speech on 12 July 2001, in which he remembered one of his predecessors as the Midlothian MP and former Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. He is a member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group, and in 2003 became a member of both the

Scottish affairs ''Scottish Affairs'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering Scottish politics. It was established in 1992 and has been published by Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and ...

and the work and pensions

select committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

s until the 2005 general election, since when he has been a member of the defence and European legislation committees. He was also a member of the Public Bill Committee for the Defence Reform Act 2014. In January 2015, he announced that he would not contest the Midlothian seat at the upcoming election. The

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

candidate Owen Thompson went on to win the Midlothian seat in

with a 9,859 majority. This win, following national trends, was a huge swing of +30% to the SNP. Hamilton was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the 2016 Birthday Honours for political and parliamentary service.

Personal life

He has been married to Jean Trench Macrae since 1969 and they have two daughters. He takes a keen interest in biotechnology.

References

External links

ePolitix – David Hamilton MP
* ttps://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/david_hamilton/midlothian TheyWorkForYou.com – David Hamilton MPbr>The Public Whip – David Hamilton MP
voting record
BBC News – David Hamilton
profile 10 February 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, David UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Scottish Labour councillors 1950 births Living people European democratic socialists People from Dalkeith Politicians awarded knighthoods Scottish Labour MPs UK MPs 2010–2015 Knights Bachelor