Jean Urquhart
| Jean Urquhart | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) |
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| In office 6 May 2011 – 23 March 2016 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 May 1949 |
| Political party | RISE - Scotland's Left Alliance Independent Scottish National Party (until 2012) |
| Website | jeanurquharthighlandsandislandsmsp |
Jean Urquhart (born 17 May 1949) is a Scottish politician. She was formerly a member of the Scottish Parliament, first elected in 2011 for the Highlands and Islands region as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member, then continuing to sit as an independent after she left the SNP in October 2012. She had been a SNP councillor at the Highland Council from 2003 to 2011.
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Early life[edit]
She was born on 17 May 1949 in West Lothian,[1] the daughter of an agricultural engineer. She was educated at Lindsay High School, Bathgate.[2]
Political career[edit]
In 2003 she became a Scottish National Party councillor at the Highland Council, having been elected for the Lochbroom Ward.[3] In 2007 she was returned as councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.[4] She was then named as vice-convener to lead an Independent/ SNP administration.[5] In 2009 the Steering Group of the UK's first ever Housing Fair appointed her as its chair when this event was held near Inveness.[6][7]
In the 2011 Scottish Parliament Election she stood as the SNP candidate for Shetland.[8] She was elected from the regional list, becoming a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands.[9] She was a member of the Scottish National Party until October 2012, when she resigned from the party over the change to the party's NATO policy.[10] She continued as an independent.[11] In 2014, after Urquhart intervened, the Post Office Ltd made its mortgage service available to people in Bute, Lewis, Harris, Orkney, Shetland, Arran, Mull and Islay.[12] in 2015 she raised the issue of the safety of sex workers, suggesting that legislation could be introduced that would enable some transformative actions be taken.[13]
In October 2015 it was reported that she would not be seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament in 2016.[14] The following month, having become a member of RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance, she became involved with drawing up its Highlands and Islands manifesto for this election.[15] In January 2016 RISE announced their candidates, with Urquhart named as their lead for the Highlands and Islands regional list.[16]
Awards and honours[edit]
She had been awarded a MBE in 1990 for services to the arts and the community, in recognition of the work she and her husband and others put in to establish The Ceilidh Place as a centre for the arts and tourism. She was later offered an OBE but turned it down.[17] In 2015, it was reported that she had decided to hand back her MBE, explaining that the awards system did not recognise the efforts of the many other people that had been involved.[18]
She received an honorary fellowship from the University of the Highlands and Islands in 2006.[19]
Personal life[edit]
Since 1973 she has managed "The Ceilidh Place",[11] a hotel in Ullapool which was named Venue of the Year at the Scots Trad awards in December 2014 for its championing of Scottish culture all year round.[20] She was married to Robert Urquhart, a well-known Scottish actor in British film, stage and television, who died in 1995.
In 2000 she took a Scottish Studies course at Newbattle Abbey College.[21]
References[edit]
- ^ "Jean Urquhart: Personal Information". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ Rhodes, Mandy (5 November 2012). "Independent woman". Holyrood. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Local government elections: Election results 2003". Highland Council. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Local government elections: Election results 2007". Highland Council. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Leaders elected to north councils". BBC News. BBC. 17 May 2007.
- ^ "Urquhart set to spearhead housing fair". Ross-shire Journal. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "The Highland Housing Fair". Architects' Journal. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ Robertson, John (6 May 2011). "Urquhart wins seat as SNP run Liberal Democrats very close in Shetland list vote". The Shetland Times. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Scotland elections: Regions: Highlands and Islands". BBC News. BBC. 11 May 2011.
- ^ Ross, David (23 October 2012). "Highland MSPs quit SNP over Nato policy change". Herald Scotland. Newsquest. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Jean Urquhart MSP". The Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Post Office reacts to criticism on island mortgages". BBC News. 13 March 2014.
- ^ Grant, Katie (11 September 2015). "Scottish MSP's plans to decriminalise sex work wins support across the country". The Independent. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ "Scottish Parliament Fact sheet. Session 4 MSPs not standing in the 2016 Election" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015.
- ^ "Ex-SNP MSP to draw up Rise manifesto". BBC News. 18 November 2015.
- ^ Freeman, Tom (6 January 2016). "RISE announces regional list candidates". Holyrood. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Candlish, Jane (10 January 2015). "Highlands and islands MSP hands back MBE". Press and Journal. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ Bevington, Pete (8 January 2015). "Local MSP hands back her MBE". The Shetland News. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "honorary awards: honorary fellowships: 2006 honorary fellowships". University of the Highlands and Islands. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ^ Ferguson, Brian (13 December 2014). "Trad Music Awards: Martyn Bennett Story victorious". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Alumni: Jean Urquhart". Newbattle Abbey College. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
