Jean UrquhartMBE(born 17 May 1949) is a Scottish politician. She was formerly aMember of the Scottish Parliament(MSP), first elected in 2011 for theHighlands and Islandsregion as aScottish National Party(SNP) member, then continuing to sit as an independent after she left the SNP in October 2012. She had been an SNP councillor at theHighland Councilfrom 2003 to 2011.
Jean Urquhart | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2011 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forHighlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| In office 6 May 2011 – 24 March 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 May 1949 West Lothian,Scotland |
| Political party | RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance(2015–2020) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent(2012–2015) Scottish National Party(until 2012) |
| Spouse | Robert Urquhart(died 1995) |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | jeanurquhart |
Early life
editShe was born on 17 May 1949 in West Lothian,[1]the daughter of an agricultural engineer. She was educated atLindsay High School, Bathgate.[2]
Political career
editIn1999,she stood unsuccessfully as the SNP candidate forCaithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.[3]In the2003 Parliament electionshe was eighth on the SNP's regional list, with only two of these getting seats.[4]
In the2003 electionfor theHighland Councilshe became a SNP member for the Lochbroom Ward.[5]In2007she was returned as councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.[6]She was then named as vice-convener to lead an Independent/ SNP administration.[7]In 2009 the Steering Group of the UK's first ever Housing Fair appointed her as its chair when this event was held near Inverness.[8][9]
In the2011 Scottish Parliament Electionshe stood as the SNP candidate forShetland.[10]She was elected from the regional list, becoming a SNPMember of the Scottish Parliamentfor the Highlands and Islands.[11]She was a member of theScottish National Partyuntil October 2012, when she andJohn Finnieresigned from the party over the change to the party'sNATOpolicy.[12]She continued as an independent.[13]In 2014, after Urquhart intervened, thePost Office Ltdmade its mortgage service available to people in Bute, Lewis, Harris, Orkney, Shetland, Arran, Mull and Islay.[14]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.[15]
In October 2015 it was reported that she would not be seeking re-election to the Scottish Parliament in2016.[16]The following month, having become a member ofRISE – Scotland's Left Alliance,she became involved with drawing up its Highlands and Islands manifesto for this election.[17]In January 2016 RISE announced their candidates, with Urquhart named as their lead for the Highlands and Islands regional list.[18]RISE were not successful in electing any of their candidates in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. The alliance was subsequently deregistered in November 2020.[19]
Awards and honours
editShe had been awarded aMBEin 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.[20]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.[21]
She received an honorary fellowship from theUniversity of the Highlands and Islandsin 2006.[22]
Personal life
editSince 1973 she has managed "The Ceilidh Place",[13]a hotel inUllapoolwhich was named Venue of the Year at the Scots Trad awards in December 2014 for its championing of Scottish culture all year round.[23]She was married toRobert Urquhart,a well-known Scottish actor in British film, stage and television, who died in 1995.
In 2000 she took a Scottish Studies course atNewbattle Abbey College.[24]In 2017 she completed an art course and some of her work was exhibited in Ullapool following this.[25]
References
edit- ^"Jean Urquhart: Personal Information".Scottish Parliament.Archived fromthe originalon 11 January 2015.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^Rhodes, Mandy (5 November 2012)."Independent woman".Holyrood.Archived fromthe originalon 11 March 2016.Retrieved5 March2016.
- ^"Vote 99: Constituency: Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross".BBC News.Retrieved15 December2016.
- ^"Vote 2003: Scottish Parliament election. region: Highlands and Islands".BBC News.Retrieved15 December2016.
- ^"Local government elections: Election results 2003".Highland Council.Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^"Local government elections: Election results 2007".Highland Council. Archived fromthe originalon 16 October 2014.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^"Leaders elected to north councils".BBC News.BBC.17 May 2007.
- ^"Urquhart set to spearhead housing fair".Ross-shire Journal.28 December 2007.Retrieved19 January2015.
- ^"The Highland Housing Fair".Architects' Journal.11 January 2008.Retrieved19 January2015.
- ^Robertson, John (6 May 2011)."Urquhart wins seat as SNP run Liberal Democrats very close in Shetland list vote".The Shetland Times.Retrieved5 March2016.
- ^"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.Retrieved20 April2017.
- ^ab"Jean Urquhart MSP".The Scottish Parliament. Archived fromthe originalon 25 June 2013.Retrieved18 June2013.
- ^"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.Retrieved8 February2016.
- ^"Scottish Parliament Fact sheet. Session 4 MSPs not standing in the 2016 Election"(PDF).Scottish Parliament.26 October 2015. Archived fromthe 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.Retrieved6 January2016.
- ^"RISE - Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism [De-registered 06/11/20]".The Electoral Commission.
- ^Candlish, Jane (10 January 2015)."Highlands and islands MSP hands back MBE".Press and Journal.Retrieved8 February2016.
- ^Bevington, Pete (8 January 2015)."Local MSP hands back her MBE".The Shetland News.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^"honorary awards: honorary fellowships: 2006 honorary fellowships".University of the Highlands and Islands.Retrieved20 January2015.
- ^Ferguson, Brian (13 December 2014)."Trad Music Awards: Martyn Bennett Story victorious".The Scotsman.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^"Alumni: Jean Urquhart".Newbattle Abbey College.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^Paterson, Kirsteen (25 February 2017)."Politics career draws to a close as former MSP Jean Urquhart makes belated return to the easel".The National.Scotland.Retrieved26 February2017.
External links
edit- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs:Jean Urquhart
- Jean Urquhart's blog
- 2017 interviewwith Liz Thomson