Michael Connarty (born 3 September 1947) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Labour Party politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
, who served as 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 of ...
for
Linlithgow and Falkirk East from
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
until
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 ...
, and
Falkirk East (1992–2005).
Parliamentary career
He unsuccessfully contested the
parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
constituency of
Stirling
Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...
at the
1983 general election but finished 5,133 votes behind the future
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Secretary of State for Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...
Michael Forsyth. Connarty ran against Forsyth again at Stirling at the
1987 general election, although Forsyth won by a narrow margin of 548 votes.
Connarty was selected as the Labour candidate for
Falkirk East at the
1992 general election following the retirement of the sitting MP,
Harry Ewing. Connarty was elected with a majority of 7,969 votes. He used his
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
on 13 May 1992 to raise concerns about the fragility of the petro-chemical industry at
Grangemouth
Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...
, the largest town in Falkirk East.
Following the
1997 general election he became the
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...
to the Minister of Film and Tourism
Tom Clarke but this appointment lasted only until 1998 when Clarke was sacked from the government. Connarty spent his parliamentary career as a
backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
. In 1998, he became a member of the European Scrutiny
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 ...
, which is the committee responsible for scrutinising the legislation set by the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. He was appointed as the Chair of the Committee from 2006–10. In 2002, Connarty was one of three MPs behind the revival of the
Tribune Group
''Tribune'' is a democratic socialist political magazine founded in 1937 and published in London, initially as a newspaper, then converting to a magazine in 2001. While it is independent, it has usually supported the Labour Party from the left. ...
of
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
Labour MPs.
As a result of the Fifth Periodical Review of the
Boundary Commission for Scotland
The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions:
* Boundary Commission for E ...
, the Falkirk East constituency was merged with Linlithgow and the new constituency was renamed
Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Linlithgow and East Falkirk is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for use in the 2005 general election. It replaced most of Falkirk East and Linlithgow.
The constituency covers the e ...
, and was elected to this new constituency in 2005. ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' awarded him the "Inquisitor of the Year Award" in the Threadneedle/Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards in 2007, recognising his Chairmanship during the committee investigation into the Lisbon Treaty. In November 2008, he was one of 18 MPs who signed a Commons
early day motion
In the Westminster parliamentary system, an early day motion (EDM) is a Motion (parliamentary procedure), motion, expressed as a single sentence, Table (parliamentary procedure), tabled by Member of Parliament, members of Parliament that formally ...
in support of forming a Team GB football team for the
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, contrary to the position held by the football governing bodies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who all had reservations that such a move would block them competing as individual nations in future tournaments.
In 2011, he was appointed a UK Parliament representative on the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The Assembly is made up o ...
(PACE). In 2013, he was elected as Chair of the PACE sub-committee on Education, Youth and Sport issues. He successfully acted as rapporteur for a report on recommendations on "Youth Access to Fundamental Rights" adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly in April 2013. He was a member of a special Ad-hoc Sub Committee investigating "Governance and Corruption in Football" meeting with FIFA, UEFA and the ECA. The report was tabled by Anne Brasseur (ALDE, Luxembourg) and adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly in 2013. He was appointed Rapporteur for a follow – up report on The Reform of Football Governance focusing on FIFA and UEFA (and the awarding of the Football World Cup to Qatar by FIFA) in January 2014. After a series of hearings held in 2014, he authored a report that noted the extent of the corruption that was involved and recommended that the process should be rerun.
He is a supporter of
Humanists UK
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious be ...
and was Co-chair of the
All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All al ...
. and vice president of the National Youth Jazz Collective.
Connarty was Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking 2011–15. He was an active participant in the Parliamentarians Against Human Trafficking network working with like minded politicians across the EU, set up by the Human Trafficking Foundation. His Private Members Bill, ''Transparency of UK Company Supply Chains'', which would have required UK Companies to audit and report on the ethical quality of their supply chain, was "talked out" by
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
MP for
North East Somerset
North East Somerset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, since its 2010 creation, by Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Boundaries
The constituency covers the part of Bath and North East Somerset District th ...
,
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Jacob William Rees-Mogg (born 24 May 1969) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset since 2010. Now a backbencher, he served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council ...
, during its second reading on 18 January 2013.
During the
2014 Scottish independence referendum
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...
, Connarty campaigned with
Better Together. He stood for re-election at the
2015 general election, but was defeated by the
SNP candidate,
Martyn Day, who won with a majority of 12,934.
Personal life
He married Margaret Doran in 1969, and have a son and daughter together. They also have two granddaughters and a grandson.
Controversies
On 19 May 2009, the ''
Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' revealed that Connarty was the fifth highest claiming MP in the UK, having claimed £156,207 in allowances between 2007 and 2008, excluding travel costs.
References
External links
*
Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Michael Connarty MPTheyWorkForYou.com – Michael Connarty MP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connarty, Michael
1947 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Alumni of the University of Stirling
Alumni of the University of Strathclyde
Scottish Labour councillors
Scottish humanists
Scottish Labour MPs
Scottish schoolteachers
Scottish people of Irish descent
UK MPs 1992–1997
UK MPs 1997–2001
UK MPs 2001–2005
UK MPs 2005–2010
UK MPs 2010–2015
Union of Communication Workers-sponsored MPs
People from Coatbridge
Politicians from North Lanarkshire