Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness

For other people named James Wallace, see James Wallace (disambiguation).
The Right Honourable
The Lord Wallace of Tankerness
PC QC
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
Assumed office
15 October 2013
Leader Nick Clegg
Tim Farron
Preceded by The Lord McNally
Advocate General for Scotland
In office
14 May 2010  8 May 2015
Prime Minister David Cameron
Preceded by The Lord Davidson of Glen Clova
Succeeded by The Lord Keen of Elie QC
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
In office
21 May 2003  27 June 2005
First Minister Jack McConnell
Preceded by Iain Gray (Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning)
Succeeded by Nicol Stephen
First Minister of Scotland
Acting
In office
8  22 November 2001
Preceded by Henry McLeish
Succeeded by Jack McConnell
In office
11  26 October 2000
Preceded by Donald Dewar
Succeeded by Henry McLeish
Deputy First Minister of Scotland
In office
17 May 1999  23 June 2005
First Minister Donald Dewar
Henry McLeish
Jack McConnell
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Nicol Stephen
Minister for Justice
In office
7 May 1999  21 May 2003
First Minister Donald Dewar
Henry McLeish
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Cathy Jamieson
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
In office
18 April 1992  23 June 2005
Preceded by Malcolm Bruce
Succeeded by Nicol Stephen
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Orkney
In office
6 May 1999  3 May 2007
Preceded by Constituency created
Succeeded by Liam McArthur
Member of Parliament
for Orkney and Shetland
In office
9 June 1983  7 June 2001
Preceded by Jo Grimond
Succeeded by Alistair Carmichael
Personal details
Born (1954-08-25) 25 August 1954
Annan, Scotland, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Political party Liberal Democrats
Alma mater Downing College, Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
Religion Presbyterianism

James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC (born 25 August 1954) is a British politician and leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Member of Parliament (MP) for Orkney and Shetland, Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney, the first Deputy First Minister of Scotland in the Scottish Executive and Advocate General for Scotland.

Early life

Lord Wallace was born in Annan in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and grew up there. As a boy, his first interest in politics was stoked when he collected autographs from politicians visiting the local area:[1] he still possesses one from Tam Dalyell, with whom he later served in the House of Commons. After finishing school in Annan he was accepted by Downing College, Cambridge, where he obtained a joint degree in Economics and Law, and was also rumoured to have been a member of the 'Three Kings' society. From there he returned to Scotland to read Law at Edinburgh, graduating in 1977. Based in Edinburgh, he practised as an advocate at the Scottish Bar, mostly in civil law cases.

Member of Parliament (UK)

Wallace joined the then-Liberal Party in the early 1970s, but did not become very active in it until after completing his second degree. His first foray as a parliamentary candidate was in the constituency of Dumfriesshire in 1979, where he failed to win. He also stood, unsuccessfully, as the Liberal candidate in the South of Scotland constituency at the European Parliament elections of that year. Four years later, he would earn the Liberal nomination for the seat of Orkney and Shetland, the seat being vacated by former party leader Jo Grimond, and won election to the Parliament. At the time, it was extremely rare for Liberal candidates successfully to win election to succeed former Liberal MPs, although many have since done so. He was to serve as the MP there for 18 years, occupying a number of front-bench posts for the Liberal Party (and, from 1988 onwards, the Liberal Democrats), including Employment spokesman and Chief Whip.

In 1992, he was unopposed in becoming the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, succeeding Malcolm Bruce. Scottish politics at this time was dominated by the question of constitutional reform. There were few opportunities for legislation affecting Scots Law to be debated or effectively scrutinised at Westminster and, especially after the 1987 election, with only ten Conservative MPs in Scotland but with a large majority in the House of Commons, it was argued that there was a democratic deficit in Scotland. The Scottish Liberal Democrats were committed to an overarching principle of federalism throughout the United Kingdom, with the Scottish Labour Party advocating legislative devolution for Scotland and Wales, as had been attempted unsuccessfully in the late 1970s, the Scottish National Party seeking independence. However, the Conservative Government wanted no such change, and Scottish Secretaries, such as Ian Lang and Michael Forsyth, advocated internal parliamentary reforms at Westminster, such as holding more debates in the Scottish Grand Committee, which then consisted of all 72 MPs for Scottish constituencies.

Given the similarity of their preferred options, the Scottish Liberal Democrats had co-operated with the Scottish Labour Party in the Scottish Constitutional Convention to produce a blueprint for a devolved parliament within the UK. Wallace continued this and the Convention's final proposals were published on St Andrew's Day 1995. A key part of this plan was the decision that this new parliament would be elected by a system of proportional representation (PR). This was a long-held Liberal Democrat (and Liberal) policy which would ensure a fairer distribution of seats, and which would almost certainly deny any single party an overall majority. The Labour Party was initially strongly opposed to this policy, and it was a mark of success for Wallace and the Liberal Democrats that it was agreed. Both parties agreed to work to enact the proposals, especially after the next UK election

When the Conservatives lost the 1997 election, the New Labour government converted the Constitutional Convention's proposals into a White Paper and a referendum of the Scottish people was held on 11 September 1997. Wallace was a key figure in that campaign, arguing strongly for the proposal (alongside Labour and Scottish National Party leaders), although campaigning in the referendum was suspended for several days following the death of Princess Diana. Despite Conservative opposition, the plan was approved by nearly 75% of those voting, and nearly 64% also voted separately for the Parliament to have the power to vary the basic rate of income tax. The Scotland Bill was then successfully piloted through Westminster and became the founding legislation of the new Parliament.

He led the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the first election to the new Scottish Parliament in 1999, himself winning the constituency of Orkney with 67% of the votes cast. This meant he served as a Member of both the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments for a time with a dual mandate, although like other MPs elected to Holyrood (such as John Swinney, John Home Robertson and Donald Gorrie) he stood down from Westminster at the 2001 General Election.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

As expected, the proportional election system for the new Scottish Parliament meant that Labour failed to gain an outright majority in the first elections. Their Leader, Donald Dewar, chose to seek a formal coalition government with a working majority rather than try to operate as a minority government. He contacted Wallace and a week of formal negotiations were held between the two parties' representatives, following which a partnership agreement was signed, committing both parties to support a negotiated joint agenda. Wallace became Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice, and maintained these briefs throughout the first term of the Parliament.[2]

The decision to enter a coalition government with Labour was controversial at the time. British politicians were unaccustomed to coalition politics, and the Liberal Democrats came under fire from Conservative and SNP opponents who claimed they had 'sold out' their principles. Key to this criticism was the Labour policy of making students pay tuition fees, which the Liberal Democrats had promised to abolish as their price of entering a coalition, but which became merely the subject of an inquiry as the coalition was formed. In the event the Liberal Democrats did insist on the abolition of tuition fees after the inquiry reported in 2001, but in 1999 the delay was perceived to have been a compromise and Wallace in particular became the focal point for extremely bitter criticism.

Despite this, and other difficult moments, he and his party stayed firm and remained in power. Wallace established himself as a minister. On three occasions over the first term of the Parliament, he became Acting First Minister twice in 2000 due to at first the illness, and later the death, of the first First Minister Donald Dewar, and then again in 2001 after the resignation of Dewar's successor as First Minister, Henry McLeish. Each occasion lasted for only a few weeks.

Under his continued leadership, the Scottish Liberal Democrats' popularity grew steadily. After leading the party through the second Holyrood elections in 2003 elections, again winning 17 MSPs but with a higher share of the vote, he led the party into a second coalition with Labour. The 2003 coalition negotiation process was widely seen as a more successful enterprise by the Liberal Democrats than the preceding one, with key aspects of Labour's proposals on anti-social behaviour dropped or limited, and with the promise of proportional representation for Scotland's 32 local councils. Wallace remained as Deputy First Minister but left the Justice brief, becoming instead the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.[3]

Resignation and peerage

On 9 May 2005, following the 2005 general election, Wallace announced his intention to stand down as party leader and Deputy First Minister. He would remain as MSP for Orkney until the 2007 election, but would serve his time out as a backbencher. He ceased to be an MSP with the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament on 2 April 2007.

On 13 September 2007 it was announced that he was to be appointed to the House of Lords.[4] He was subsequently created a life peer on 17 October 2007 taking the title Baron Wallace of Tankerness, of Tankerness in Orkney.[5]

Wallace also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2007 [6]

On 28 April 2008 it was announced that the new Lord Wallace would be a member of the Commission on Scottish Devolution, chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman, established by the Scottish Parliament to consider the future powers of the Parliament, including powers over finance. This is a distinct exercise from the SNP Government's national conversation.

In November 2008 Wallace received a lifetime achievement award in the Scottish Politician of the Year Awards.[7]

In May 2010 he was appointed Advocate General for Scotland, one of the Law Officers of the Crown, who advise the UK government on Scots law.[8]

He was elected unopposed as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords on 15 October 2013, replacing Lord McNally, who had stepped down earlier in the month.[9]

Personal life

Wallace is also an elder of the Church of Scotland, attending St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney.

See also

References

  1. "CV: Jim Wallace". BBC News. 2 April 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  2. "Previous MSPs: Session 1 (1999–2003): Jim Wallace MSP". The Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  3. "Previous MSPs: Session 2 (2003–2007): Jim Wallace MSP". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  4. "Former Lib Dem leader made a peer". BBC News. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. The London Gazette: no. 58495. p. 15513. 26 October 2007.
  6. "Annual Review 2007 : Principal's Review". www1.hw.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  7. "Lord Wallace's Lifetime of Achievement". The Herald (Glasgow). 14 November 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  8. "Ministerial role: HM Advocate General for Scotland". UK Government. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  9. "Jim Wallace to lead Lib Dems in Lords". BBC News. 15 October 2013.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Jo Grimond
Member of Parliament
for Orkney and Shetland

19832001
Succeeded by
Alistair Carmichael
Party political offices
Preceded by
David Alton
Liberal Chief Whip in the House of Commons
1987–1988
Position abolished
New office Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Commons
1988–1992
Succeeded by
Archy Kirkwood
Preceded by
Malcolm Bruce
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
1992–2005
Succeeded by
Nicol Stephen
Preceded by
The Lord McNally
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords
2013–present
Incumbent
Scottish Parliament
New constituency Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Orkney

19992007
Succeeded by
Liam McArthur
Political offices
New office Deputy First Minister of Scotland
1999–2005
Succeeded by
Nicol Stephen
Minister for Justice
1999–2003
Succeeded by
Cathy Jamieson
Preceded by
Donald Dewar
First Minister of Scotland
Acting

2000
Succeeded by
Henry McLeish
Preceded by
Henry McLeish
First Minister of Scotland
Acting

2001
Succeeded by
Jack McConnell
Preceded by
Iain Gray
as Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
2003–2005
Succeeded by
Nicol Stephen
Legal offices
Preceded by
The Lord Davidson of Glen Clova
Advocate General for Scotland
2010–2015
Succeeded by
The Lord Keen of Elie
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