Stewart Stevenson
James Alexander Stewart Stevenson (known as Stewart Stevenson) (Gaelic: Seamus Alasdair Stiùbhart MacSteafain) (born 1946) is a Scottish politician who became a Member of the Scottish Parliament in 2001.[1]
Early life
Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, and brought up in Cupar, Fife, where he attended Bell Baxter High School. After studying mathematics at the University of Aberdeen he worked in information technology with the Bank of Scotland for 30 years, retiring in 1999 as Director of Technology Innovation.
Political career
In Opposition
He joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1961. Elected to the Scottish Parliament on 7 June 2001 he followed Alex Salmond, after his resignation, as member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Banff and Buchan.
He made his maiden speech on the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy, rising to his feet at 16:11 hrs on 14 June, 30 hours and 36 minutes after being sworn in.[2]
University Challenge
In 2004 he was a member of the Scottish Parliament team in the TV general knowledge programme, University Challenge – The Professionals. He and fellow team members Richard Baker (Labour), Robin Harper (Green), Jamie Stone (Lib Dem) who was captain, beat a Welsh Assembly team by 110 points to 75.[3][4] Both teams comfortably surpassed the record low score of 25 achieved by the House of Commons team in 2003[5]
Responsibilities
In opposition he was Shadow Deputy Health Minister before becoming Shadow Deputy Justice Minister with responsibility for Prisons and Drugs policy, Convenor of the SNP Group in the Scottish Parliament and Deputy Convenor of the Parliament's Justice 1 Committee.[6] In addition he ended Session 2 as a substitute member of the Parliament's Health Committee[7] and Deputy Convenor of the Parliament's Cross Party Group on Visual Impairment.
Records
By the end of Parliament's second session on 2 April 2007 he had made 284 speeches in the Scottish Parliament and was thus the most prolific speaker since the Parliament's being re-convened in 1999. By the end of Session 3 in March 2011, he had made 406 speeches and retained the position of "most prolific parliamentary speaker". He reached his 500th speech[8] on the Tribunals (Scotland) Bill, on 7 November 2013.[9]
He can, arguably, hold the record for the longest speech in Parliament. He commenced a speech on International Suicide Prevention Week at 17:21 on Wednesday, 7 September 2004[10] and completed it at 17:12 on Thursday, 8 September 2004[11] nearly 24 hours later. However this was due to the failure of the Parliament's sound system just after he started to speak.
On 12 June 2015, he became the first Member of the Scottish Parliament to have made 600 speeches.[12]
In Government
In the Scottish Parliament election of 3 May 2007, Stewart Stevenson was returned with a majority of 10,530, the largest in Scotland, over the Scottish Conservative Party candidate. After the SNP's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament Election, Stevenson was appointed Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change.[13] This appointment covered: the land use planning system, climate change, building standards, transport policy and delivery, public transport, road, rail services, canals, harbours, air and ferry services, Scottish Water.
As Minister, Stevenson piloted the SNP Government's first Bill, Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Bill, to the statute book on 24 January 2008.[14] and when he signed The Port of Cairnryan Harbour Empowerment Order 2007 he became the first SNP Minister to sign a piece of legislation.[15] He also brought forward the SNP's first Legislative Consent Motion, previously known as Sewel Motions, on the subject of the UK Climate Change Bill.[16] He was also the first SNP Minister to lose a vote in Parliament on the subject of the Edinburgh Trams project.[17]
He continued a family association as the Minister for Transport through the planning and building of the replacement for the Forth Road Bridge which opened in 1964. His great uncle Sir Alexander Stevenson was Chairman of the Forth Road Bridge Campaign Committee in the 1930s.[18]
In March 2009 Stevenson apologised for the use of an "intemperate word" in Parliament when he said the word "bollocks" in an off-mic remark in response to sedentary remarks by Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Rumbles on the relationship between Scottish ministers and officials at Transport Scotland.[19]
During the December 2010 snowfall on 6 December, Stevenson, on Newsnight Scotland, called the response to people being trapped on the main Scottish Motorway Network for more than 10 hours, as first class, and refused to apologise, claiming the amount of snow was un-forecast. The next day he apologised to motorists.[20] On 11 December Stevenson resigned following criticism of his handling of the issue.[21]
2011 Scottish General Election
Under the re-drawn constituency boundaries, Stevenson was elected as the SNP member for the new seat of Banffshire and Buchan Coast, It contains approximately 85% of the electorate of Banff and Buchan and the remainder comes from the previous Moray seat's communities of Cullen, Findochty, Portknockie, Buckie, and from a part of the previous Gordon constituency comprising Rothiemay, Knock, Deskford, Grange. A substantial rural area with a small number of electors is also included.
His 16,812 votes represents the largest share of votes cast in a Scottish Parliament constituency with 67.24% but trails the actual votes of others such as Alex Salmond (19,533), John Swinney (18,219), Fiona Hyslop (17,027), Willie Coffey (16,964), Fergus Ewing (16,870) and Richard Lochhead (16,817).
In the 2011 Scottish Government he was appointed as Minister for Environment and Climate Change.[22] In the re-shuffle of September 2012, Stevenson was replaced as Minister by Paul Wheelhouse MSP.[23]
2016 Scottish General Election
Stevenson was re-elected as member for Banffshire and Buchan Coast at the 2016 election.[24]
Relatives of Note
Politics
- Alexander Berry (1781–1873) MP New South Wales, Australia – 1st cousin, 4 times removed
- Keith Laird (1907–1985) Canadian Senator – 3rd cousin
- Sir Alexander Stewart Stevenson (1860–1936) Edinburgh Lord Provost – Great Uncle
- James Stevenson, 1st Baron Stevenson (1873–1926) Member of House of Lords – 1st cousin, once removed
Business
- David Berry (1795–1889) Businessman & Benefactor, New South Wales, Australia – 1st cousin, 4 times removed (brother of Alexander Berry)
Sport
- Jamie Alexander Stevenson (1975– ) World Orienteering Champion 2003 (Sprint), 2008 (Relay) – Nephew
Arts
- Marian Lines (1933–2012) Actress & Writer – 4th Cousin (both descended from David Berry, 1791–1854, and Catherine Scott, 1793–1875)
Medicine
- Professor David Berry Hart (1851–1920) Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology – 2nd cousin, twice removed
References
- ↑ "STEVENSON, (James Alexander) Stewart". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. December 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ↑ Official Report (Session 1); c 1669, Scottish Parliament, 14 June 2001
- ↑ "2004 Series University Challenge – The Professionals". Blanchflower.org. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ↑ Scots win in 'Paxo' challenge, BBC News, 28 June 2004
- ↑ "2003 Series University Challenge – The Professionals". Blanchflower.org. 2003-09-08. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ↑ "The Scottish Parliament: – Committees – Justice 1 – Session 2". Scottish.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ↑ "The Scottish Parliament:-Committees-Health". Scottish.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2011-01-31.
- ↑ List of Speeches, Stewart Stevenson MSP Web Site
- ↑ Official Report (Session 4); c 24231, Scottish Parliament, 7 November 2013
- ↑ Official Report (Session 2); c 9981, Scottish Parliament, 7 September 2004
- ↑ Official Report (Session 2); c 10121, Scottish Parliament, 8 September 2004
- ↑ Stevenson makes 600th Speech, 12 June 2015
- ↑ "Parliament approves Scottish Ministers" (Press release). Scottish Government. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ↑ Abolition of Bridge Tolls (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Parliament, 24 January 2008
- ↑ The Port of Cairnryan Harbour Empowerment Order 2007, Scottish Parliament, 25 May 2007
- ↑ Official Report (Session 3); c 4759, Scottish Parliament, 20 December 2007
- ↑ Official Report (Session 3); c 1127, Scottish Parliament, 27 June 2007
- ↑ The Archive, The Scotsman, 28 February 1935 (Search Free / Pay to Access)
- ↑ "Minister says sorry for swearing". BBC News. 12 March 2009.
- ↑ "Scottish Transport Minister apologises to motorists". BBC News. 7 December 2010.
- ↑ "Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson resigns". BBC News. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ↑ "Salmond completes SNP majority government". BBC News. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ↑ "Scottish cabinet reshuffle". BBC News. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ↑ "Banffshire and Buchan Coast result". BBC. 6 May 2016.
External links
- Stewart Stevenson's personal web site
- profile on SNP website
- Stewart Stevenson's Scottish Parliament biography
- Stewart Stevenson at They Work for You
Social media
- Twitter: @zsstevens
- Facebook: stewartstevenson4msp
- LinkedIn: Stewart Stevenson
- YouTube: zsstevens
- Flickr: stewartstevenson
| Scottish Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alex Salmond |
Member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan 2001 – 2011 |
Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Banffshire and Buchan Coast 2011 – present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Roseanna Cunningham |
Minister for Environment and Climate Change 2011–2012 |
Succeeded by Paul Wheelhouse |
| Preceded by Tavish Scott as Minister for Transport |
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Keith Brown as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure |
| ||||||||||||||||||