Michael Fraser Weir (born 24 March 1957) is a

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 ...

(SNP) politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

in Scotland from 2001 to 2017 when he lost his seat to the Conservative Party. He served as the SNP Chief Whip in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. Weir used to be a

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

and Convenor of the General Purposes Committee of

Angus District Council Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Du ...

. Prior to his election in 2001, he was a solicitor and Partner for J&DG Shiell in

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

Background

He was born in Arbroath and educated at

Arbroath High School Arbroath High School is a six-year, all-through comprehensive school situated on the west side of Arbroath, Angus, Scotland. It moved into its present building in 1985. Accommodation The new building was opened in 1985 to serve the west side of ...

and

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, from where he graduated

LLB 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 Chi ...

in 1979. Whilst at university Mike Weir served as President of the

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

Scottish Nationalist Association and was a member of the Students Representative Council. He has also served as a member of the national executive of the Young Scottish Nationalists and from 1984 to 1988 he served as a councillor on

, where he was Convenor of General Purposes. He worked as a solicitor in Montrose and

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

before settling in

where he was a partner (latterly senior partner) in the firm of J&DG Shiell. He is married with two daughters.

House of Commons

Weir fought Aberdeen South in the 1987 general election, coming fourth. He was first elected to Parliament in 2001 and in his first term was the SNP Spokesperson on Trade and Industry and Work and Pensions, as well as being a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee (2001–05). In

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 ...

, Weir held the new seat of Angus which had been substantially changed in the boundary changes for that election. Although he went into the election with a notional majority of only 532 he achieved a majority of 1601 over the

Conservatives 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 in ...

. Since 2005 Mike Weir has been the SNP Westminster Spokesperson on Business and Enterprise (which includes energy) and the Environment. He has been an outspoken opponent of nuclear power and has pursued a relentless campaign on the future of the Post Office network. Mike Weir sat on the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee (2005–09) and was a member of the Chairmen's Panel/ Panel of Chairs from (2005–10). He served on the

Energy and Climate Change Select Committee The Energy and Climate Change Select Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that came into existence on 1 January 2009. Formation The House of Commons agreed to the committee's establish ...

from 2009–10. Weir has championed issues relating to energy including calling for "social tariffs" for poorer utility customers and opposing pre-payment meters As postal affairs spokesperson Weir led SNP opposition to privatisation of the Royal Mail He raised the issue of local driving test centre closures at Westminster Mike Weir served as the SNP's Chief Whip in the

during the 2015-17 Parliament.

References

External links

Twitter
;Profile
Westminster profileSNP profileWestminster GroupBBC News Democracy LiveSTV News profileePolitix.com profileGuardian profileTelegraph profileTheyWorkForYou.comThe Public Whip profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Mike Scottish National Party MPs UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 Scottish solicitors Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 1957 births Living people People from Arbroath UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 Scottish National Party councillors