Mike Crockart
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Michael Bruce Crockart (born 19 March 1966) is a Scottish
Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...
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 Edinburgh West from 2010 to 2015. Crockart was the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary of State, but he quit in December 2010 to vote against the rise in
tuition fees Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...
.


Parliamentary candidate

Crockart was educated at
Perth High School Perth High School is a six-year, non-denominational comprehensive secondary school in Perth, Scotland. Established in 1950 at Gowans Terrace in a post-war prefabricated structure of a type that had not previously been used for any large school ...
and at
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
where he studied
Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
. He worked as a policeman with
Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes ...
for eight years before becoming a systems developer with
Standard Life Standard Life is a life assurance, pensions and long-terms savings company in the UK which is owned by Phoenix Group. History 1825–2010 The Standard Life Assurance Company was established in 1825 and was reincorporated as a mutual assurance ...
. He first challenged for elected office in 2002 when he came second in a by-election for the
Balerno Balerno (; gd, Baile Àirneach, IPA: paleˈɛːɾʲnəx Scots: Balerno or Balernie) is a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre, next to Currie and then Juniper Green. Traditionally in the cou ...
ward of the City of Edinburgh Council, coming second to the Conservatives. He stood for the same ward again the following year, increasing his share of the vote.


Edinburgh North and Leith

In 2005 he stood for the Westminster constituency of Edinburgh North and Leith, coming second to Labour's Mark Lazarowicz and securing a swing of 8.3 per cent from Labour to Lib Dem. In November 2005 he again sought election to the city council, standing in another by-election in
Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...
, and again came second. In the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections in the smaller Scottish constituency of Edinburgh North and Leith, and again secured a large swing from Labour but still finished in second place.


Edinburgh West

In 2009, John Barrett, the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West announced his retirement, prompting a nomination fight. Crockart stood, as did city council housing leader Paul Edie, former Borders MSP Euan Robson and former Edinburgh Central Scottish Parliament candidate Siobhan Mathers. Crockart defeated Edie by 77 votes to 57. He retained the seat for the party in the 2010 general election with an 8.2 per cent majority, despite suffering a large swing to the Labour Party of 11.4.


Member of Parliament

The result from the 2010 election produced a situation whereby no one party had a majority 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. T ...
and so a
coalition agreement A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
was drawn up between 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 ...
and the Liberal Democrats. As a result, Crockart, in his first term as an MP, was now sitting on the Government benches as opposed to the opposition ones. Speaking about the agreement, Crockart claimed that this was a "bold and ambitious agreement" that would bring "positive change to Edinburgh". Crockart was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the
Scottish Secretary 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 in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ...
Michael Moore. On 9 December 2010, Crockart resigned as Michael Moore's PPS to vote against the government's proposed rise in
tuition fees Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...
. In his resignation letter, he told party chief whip
Alistair Carmichael Alexander Morrison "Alistair" CarmichaelFull name is given as "CARMICHAEL, Alexander Morrison, commonly known as Alistair Carmichael" in the returning officer'2010 general election declaration (born 15 July 1965) is a Scottish politician and s ...
that the rise in potential student debt will "seriously impact on people's choices". He went on to say, "this is especially true for those students from poorer backgrounds, many of whom have no role models in their schools or families to demonstrate to them the benefits which can accrue from a university education." During the 2015 general election campaign, Crockart criticised the Scottish National Party for issuing campaign letters referring to him as the "retiring MP". At the election, he lost his seat to SNP candidate
Michelle Thomson Michelle Rhonda Thomson (née Perks; born 11 March 1965) is a Scottish businesswoman and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Falkirk East since May 2021. Thomson is the co-fou ...
.


References


External links


West Edinburgh Liberal Democrats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crockart, Mike 1966 births Living people People from Perth, Scotland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish police officers Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs UK MPs 2010–2015 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Officers in Scottish police forces