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Gavin Strang

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The Right Honourable
Gavin Strang
Minister of State for Transport
In office
2 May 1997 – 18 June 1998
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byJohn Watts
Succeeded byJohn Reid
Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
5 November 1992 – 2 May 1997
LeaderJohn Smith
Tony Blair
Preceded byRon Davies
Succeeded byDouglas Hogg
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office
18 October 1974 – 4 May 1979
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
James Callaghan
Preceded byEdward Bishop
Succeeded byJerry Wiggin
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy
In office
7 March 1974 – 18 October 1974
Prime MinisterHarold Wilson
Preceded byPeter Emery
Succeeded byAlex Eadie
Member of Parliament
for Edinburgh East
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (1997–2005)
In office
19 June 1970 – 12 April 2010
Preceded byGeorge Willis
Succeeded bySheila Gilmore
Personal details
Born
Gavin Steel Strang

(1943-07-10) 10 July 1943 (age 81)
Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Churchill College, Cambridge

Gavin Steel Strang (born 10 July 1943) is a Scottish Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh East from 1970 until 2010 (including two terms for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh).[1][2] He served as a minister in the 1974–79 Labour government under Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, as well as in the Cabinet under Tony Blair. By the time of his retirement at the 2010 general election, he was the longest-serving Scottish MP.

Early life

A farmer's son, Strang grew up in Perthshire and attended the independent Morrison's Academy in Crieff. After gaining a BSc in Genetics from the University of Edinburgh in 1964, he gained a Diploma in Agricultural Science from Churchill College, Cambridge and a PhD in Agricultural Science from Edinburgh, presenting the thesis "The genetic aspects of litter productivity in British pigs".[3] From 1966 to 1968, he was a member of the Tayside Economic Planning Consultative Group and, from 1968 to 1970, was a scientist at the Agricultural and Food Research Council and Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh.

Parliamentary career

Strang was first elected in the 1970 general election after Labour MP George Willis, who had represented Edinburgh East since a 1954 by-election, retired. Strang was a minister under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Energy in 1974 and then at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food until 1979. In 1990, he was the last person to ask Margaret Thatcher a question at Prime Minister's Questions, which he used to criticise her impact on communities and the poor during her time in office.

Following the 1997 general election, Strang was made Minister of State for Transport with a seat in the Cabinet. However, he was sacked in June 1998. After becoming a backbencher, he was sometimes critical of government policy. He campaigned against the privatisation of National Air Traffic Services, and on 31 October 2006, was one of twelve Labour MPs to back Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party's call for an inquiry into the Iraq War.[4] From 1997 to the 2005 general election, his seat was named Edinburgh East and Musselburgh.

Strang was a member of the Tribune Group of MPs and the Campaign for Labour Party Democracy.[5][6] He was Chairman of the All-Party Group for World Government[7] and served on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. In November 2007, he announced he would stand down at the next general election,[8] but later reversed the decision. On 27 June 2008, Strang again changed his mind, and announced that he would indeed stand down at the next general election.[9]

Personal life

Strang married Bettina in 1973. They have a son, and he has two step sons. His wife has been the chair of the arm of the advocacy organisation Europa Donna.[10] Bettina died in 2016.

References

  1. ^ "Dr Gavin Strang". Hansard. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Parliamentary career for Dr Gavin Strang - MPs and Lords". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ Strang, G. S. (1968). "Genetic aspects of litter productivity in British pigs". Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ "Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq". BBC News. 31 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2006.
  5. ^ The Labour Party and the Labour left (Thesis). Brasenose College, Oxford University. 2001. p. 289 (Appendix 2). Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Campaign Briefing" (PDF). Campaign for Labour Party Democracy. 2013. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. ^ "One World Trust". Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2007.
  8. ^ Strang ready to quit Commons at next election, Edinburgh Evening News, 26 November 2007
  9. ^ Strang thinks again and vows to quit as MP in latest U-turn Archived 30 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Scotsman, 27 June 2008
  10. ^ "EUROPA DONNA". Cancerworld. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Edinburgh East
1970–1997 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh
1997–2005
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh East
2005–2010 		Succeeded by
Political offices
New creation Minister of State for Transport
1997–1998 		Succeeded by
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