Gregg McClymont (born 3 June 1976) is a retirement expert, historian and former politician. He was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East from
2010 until
2015.
Background and personal life
Born and brought up in
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld (; gd, Comar nan Allt, meeting of the streams) is a large town in the historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth most-populous locality in Scotland and the most populated t ...
, he attended Kildrum Primary School and
Cumbernauld High School from 1981 until 1993. He read history at the
University of Glasgow
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, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, graduating in 1997, the year when he was also chair of
Scottish Labour Students
Scottish Labour Students (SLS) is a student society affiliated to Scottish Labour, and part of the UK wide organisation Labour Students.
It aims to bring Labour values to campuses and represent students within the Labour Party throughout Scot ...
, before winning the Thouron Scholarship to study at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. Returning to Britain, he wrote a doctoral thesis in modern British history at
St John's College, Oxford. Subsequently, he became a tutorial fellow at
St Hugh's College, Oxford, where he taught until May 2010.
Political life
He was selected to replace outgoing Labour MP
Rosemary McKenna to fight the seat of
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East at the
2010 general election. He won the seat with a 13,755 majority and over 57% of the votes cast.
In parliament, McClymont sat on the House of Commons
select committees
Select or SELECT may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Select'' (album), an album by Kim Wilde
* ''Select'' (magazine), a British music magazine
* ''MTV Select'', a television program
* ''Select Live'', New Zealand's C4 music program ...
on science and technology, and business, innovation and skills; and held the post of
Parliamentary Private Secretary to shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Ann McKechin. In early 2011, he moved on to the Labour front bench as an assistant whip, before becoming the Shadow Pensions Minister for the Department of Work and Pensions in October 2011.
As Shadow Pensions Minister McClymont described proposals to reform annuities as a "good thing", but argued the
coalition's plans "lacked clarity". He also claimed that changes to pension credit schemes would see many pensioners getting a rise in pensions of just 87p.
McClymont has been a strong critic of the British Government's economic policy. He has argued repeatedly in parliament for stronger safeguards for post offices following the privatisation of the Royal Mail. He has also sought to highlight the impact changes to housing benefit will have on his constituents in Cumbernauld as well as campaigning for compensation for victims of terror attacks overseas.
Academic publications
* McClymont, Gregg (2008)
"Socialism, Puritanism and Hedonism: The Parliamentary Labour Party's Attitude to Gambling, 1923–31" ''Twentieth Century British History''. 19 (3): 288–313. .
* McClymong, Gregg (2011)
"The Cultural Politics of Tory Socialism: The Clarion in the Labour Movement During the 1890s" In Griffiths, Clare; Nott, James J.; Whyte, William, eds. ''Classes, Cultures and Politics: Essays on British History for Ross McKibbin''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . .
References
External links
Official website*
Cumbernauldnl.info Chat to Gregg McClymont MP*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClymont, Gregg
1976 births
Living people
Scottish Labour MPs
UK MPs 2010–2015
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Fellows of St Hugh's College, Oxford
People from Cumbernauld
People educated at Cumbernauld Academy
Politicians from North Lanarkshire