Donald Gorrie
Encyclopedia
Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie (born 2 April 1933) is a Scottish
Liberal Democrat
politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
Region. He was also a Member of Parliament
from 1997 until 2001, representing Edinburgh West
.
His son Robert Gorrie is (since 2006) a Liberal Democrat councillor in Haringey
, London, and has been Group Leader since 2008. He also stood for the Scottish Parliament
seat of Airdrie and Shotts
in the 2007 Scottish elections.
, before becoming an Edinburgh City Councillor
in 1971. He remained a member of Edinburgh Council until its dissolution in 1976, when he became a member of Lothian Regional Council 1976-96, Edinburgh District Council 1978-96 and the new Edinburgh City Council 1995-97. During this time he stood for election to Westminster in the Edinburgh West constituency
four times before finally winning it and becoming the area's MP in 1997
.
, and sit as a Member of it. So when the Scottish Parliament was established by the referendum of 1997, he announced he would retire from Westminster
after just one term as an MP in order to stand for the new Scottish Parliament. He was therefore elected in 1999, as Liberal Democrat
MSP for the Central Scotland region
(retiring from Westminster at the next General Election in 2001
).
, which he saw as centralist and corrupt. He was firmly on the radical left
of the Liberal Democrats
, believing in full-scale political reform and significant increases in spending on public services
. This put him at odds with the more cautious Liberal Democrat party
leadership at the time, and he was often seen as a renegade member of the 'awkward squad,' for example in his implacable opposition to the coalition with the Labour party
formed after the 1999 elections
(he was one of only three of his party's MSPs to vote against it).
Gorrie disliked his characterisation as a rebel, pointing to the fact that (unlike the pro-coalition MSPs) he was merely sticking to the Liberal Democrats' manifesto
commitments.
, and later his campaign against the sectarianism
that plagued Scottish society
. Though controversial at first, this latter campaign raised the profile of the issue until eventually it was taken up by First Minister Jack McConnell
, who instigated a series of legislative attempts to deal with the issue.
Disliked by some (mainly those in what he would term 'the establishment') for the uncompromising stances he has taken, Donald Gorrie is nevertheless widely respected for his consistency of principle and his long record of service to liberal politics
and public life in general. He retired from the Scottish Parliament at the 2007 elections. He upset the party leadership in during the campaign by saying the Lib Dems should 'never say never' to an independence referendum
- as that would resign them to another coalition with the Labour Party.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Liberal Democrat
Scottish Liberal Democrats
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
for Central Scotland
Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Central Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
Region. He was also a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from 1997 until 2001, representing Edinburgh West
Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1885 general election...
.
Personal life
A former athlete, Donald Gorrie held the record for the 880 yards in his youth. He is married to Astrid and has two sons and a number of grandchildren.His son Robert Gorrie is (since 2006) a Liberal Democrat councillor in Haringey
Haringey London Borough Council
Haringey London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Haringey in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Haringey is divided into 19 wards, each electing three councillors. Haringey London Borough...
, London, and has been Group Leader since 2008. He also stood for the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
seat of Airdrie and Shotts
Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
in the 2007 Scottish elections.
Early career
After starting his professional career as a schoolteacher, he was Secretary of the Scottish Liberal PartyScottish Liberal Party
The Scottish Liberal Party was the dominant political party of Victorian Scotland, and although its importance declined with the rise of the Labour and Unionist parties during the 20th century, it was still a significant force when it finally merged with the Social Democratic Party in Scotland, to...
, before becoming an Edinburgh City Councillor
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
in 1971. He remained a member of Edinburgh Council until its dissolution in 1976, when he became a member of Lothian Regional Council 1976-96, Edinburgh District Council 1978-96 and the new Edinburgh City Council 1995-97. During this time he stood for election to Westminster in the Edinburgh West constituency
Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency)
Edinburgh West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , first used in the 1885 general election...
four times before finally winning it and becoming the area's MP in 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
.
Scottish Parliament
But his life-long passion in politics was to see the establishment of a Scottish ParliamentScottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, and sit as a Member of it. So when the Scottish Parliament was established by the referendum of 1997, he announced he would retire from Westminster
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
after just one term as an MP in order to stand for the new Scottish Parliament. He was therefore elected in 1999, as Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
MSP for the Central Scotland region
Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Central Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
(retiring from Westminster at the next General Election in 2001
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
).
Opponents
A feisty and independent-minded politician, he was always fiercely loyal to his liberal instincts, and had a particular mistrust of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, which he saw as centralist and corrupt. He was firmly on the radical left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
of the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, believing in full-scale political reform and significant increases in spending on public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
. This put him at odds with the more cautious Liberal Democrat party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
leadership at the time, and he was often seen as a renegade member of the 'awkward squad,' for example in his implacable opposition to the coalition with the Labour party
Lib-Lab pact
In British politics, a Lib-Lab pact is a working arrangement between the Liberal Democrats and the Labour Party.There have been four such arrangements, and one alleged proposal, at the national level...
formed after the 1999 elections
Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...
(he was one of only three of his party's MSPs to vote against it).
Gorrie disliked his characterisation as a rebel, pointing to the fact that (unlike the pro-coalition MSPs) he was merely sticking to the Liberal Democrats' manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
commitments.
Second term
As time passed, and particularly after he was re-elected for a second term as MSP in 2003, he mellowed, however, and - confined to the backbenches with no hope of ministerial appointment - he concentrated on campaigning on a number of particular themes which interested him. His boldness and eye for publicity endeared him to a media corps that was often starved of stories by the cautious and tightly-controlled party machines that operated at Holyrood, and he became associated with a number of individual causes, like the spiralling cost and mismanagement of the Holyrood building projectScottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
, and later his campaign against the sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
that plagued Scottish society
Scottish national identity
Scottish national identity is a term referring to the sense of national identity and common culture of Scottish people and is shared by a considerable majority of the people of Scotland....
. Though controversial at first, this latter campaign raised the profile of the issue until eventually it was taken up by First Minister Jack McConnell
Jack McConnell
Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale is a British Labour life peer in the House of Lords. He was third First Minister of Scotland from 2001 to 2007, making him the longest serving First Minister in the history of the Scottish Parliament...
, who instigated a series of legislative attempts to deal with the issue.
Disliked by some (mainly those in what he would term 'the establishment') for the uncompromising stances he has taken, Donald Gorrie is nevertheless widely respected for his consistency of principle and his long record of service to liberal politics
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and public life in general. He retired from the Scottish Parliament at the 2007 elections. He upset the party leadership in during the campaign by saying the Lib Dems should 'never say never' to an independence referendum
Independence referendum
An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the citizens of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent country. The independence referendum is considered successful if the citizens vote in favor of independence or unsuccessful if they do not...
- as that would resign them to another coalition with the Labour Party.