Sir Tam Dalyell | |
|---|---|
 Dalyell onAfter Dark in 1991 | |
| Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh | |
| In office 7 March 2003 – 15 February 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Robin Harper |
| Succeeded by | Mark Ballard |
| Father of the House of Commons | |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Speaker | Michael Martin |
| Preceded by | Edward Heath |
| Succeeded by | Alan Williams |
| Member of Parliament forLinlithgow West Lothian (1962–1983) | |
| In office 14 June 1962 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | John Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Dalyell Loch (1932-08-09)9 August 1932 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 26 January 2017(2017-01-26) (aged 84) West Lothian, Scotland |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Royal Scots Greys British Army |
| Years of service | 1950–1952 |
| Rank | Trooper |
Sir Thomas Dalyell, 11th BaronetFRSGS (/diˈɛl/ ⓘdee-EL; 9 August 1932 – 26 January 2017), known asTam Dalyell, was a Scottish politician who served asMember of Parliament (MP) forLinlithgow (formerlyWest Lothian) from 1962 to 2005. A member of theLabour Party, he was best known for formulating what came to be known as the "West Lothian question", on whether non-English MPs should be able to vote upon English-only matters afterpolitical devolution. He was also known for his staunch anti-war views, opposing theFalklands War, theGulf War, theWar in Afghanistan and theIraq War.
Dalyell was born inEdinburgh,[1] and raised in the family home of his motherEleanor Dalyell,the Binns, nearLinlithgow, West Lothian; his fatherGordon LochCIE (1887–1953) was acolonial civil servant and a scion of theLoch family.Highland Clearances facilitatorJames Loch (1780–1855) was an ancestral uncle. Loch (and his son) took his wife's surname in 1938, and through his mother Dalyell inherited thebaronetcy of Dalyell,[2] but he never used the title.[3]
Dalyell was educated at theEdinburgh Academy andEton College.[4] He did hisnational service with theRoyal Scots Greys from 1950 to 1952, as an ordinarytrooper, after failing his officer training. He then went toKing's College, Cambridge, to study mathematics, but switched to history. He became chairman of theCambridge University Conservative Association and vice-president of theCambridge Union Society.[5][6]: 63 Cambridge economistJoan Robinson encouraged him to stay for a year after completing his history degree to take an additional degree in economics, which he did and later described as "the hardest work I ever did, much harder than being aPPS".[7] He then trained as a teacher atMoray House College in Edinburgh and taught atBo'ness Academy for three years,[4] and was Director of Studies on the ship schoolDunera from 1961 to 1962.[8][9]
In 1969 Dalyell became a columnist forNew Scientist magazine,[10] contributingWestminster Scene (laterWestminster Diary) until his retirement in 2005. This provided "a conduit for researchers to speak to Parliament andvice versa", covering many subjects of public concern including industrial diseases, data protection, chemical weapons and the environment.[11]
Having been educated by left-wing economists atCambridge, Dalyell said that he became asocialist because of the level of unemployment in Scotland.[7] He joined theLabour Party in 1956, following theSuez Crisis.[12] After being unsuccessful as a parliamentary candidate forRoxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles in 1959, he became aMember of Parliament in June 1962, when he defeatedWilliam Wolfe of theScottish National Party ina hard-fought by-election forWest Lothian.[2] From 1983 onwards, he representedLinlithgow (when thenew town of Livingston formed its own constituency) and easily retained the seat. He becameFather of the House after the2001 general election, when Former Prime MinisterEdward Heath retired from theHouse of Commons.[13] He was a nominatedMember of the European Parliament from 1975 to 1979,[2] and a member of theLabour National Executive from 1986 to 1987 representing theCampaign group.[14]
Dalyell's independent stance in Parliament ensured his isolation from significant committees and jobs. His early career was promising and he becameparliamentary private secretary (PPS) toRichard Crossman.[15] He annoyed a number of ministers and was heavily censured by thePrivileges Committee for a leak about the biological weapons research establishment,Porton Down,[16] to the newspapers (though he said that he thought the draft minutes of theSelect Committee on Science and Technology were in thepublic domain).[6]: 110–112 When Labour weredefeated in 1970, his chances of senior office were effectively over. He was opposed toScottish devolution and was the first to come up with the "West Lothian question", although it was actually named byConservative MPEnoch Powell. He continued to argue his own causes: in 1978–79, he voted against his own government over 100 times, despite athree-line whip.[16]
In the 1990s, Dalyell asked theLord Advocate,Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, to grant diplomatic immunity toLester Coleman, a co-author ofTrail of the Octopus, so that he could give evidence in theLockerbie bombing trial in Scotland; theUS Government had indictments against Coleman, accusing him of passport fraud and perjury.Allan Stewart, a formerScottish Office minister andConservative MP forEastwood, also said that Coleman should be granted immunity so he could testify in Scotland. The Lord Advocate rejected Dalyell's plea, saying that the Home Office and the English courts had jurisdiction over the demand of the US government's extradition demand regarding Coleman, and that the Crown Office and the Scottish Office had no authority over the case.[17] Dalyell later said, "I had contact with Les Coleman 10 years ago. In my opinion, though he has a chequered history, I take him seriously."[18]
Dalyell was vocal in his disapproval of actions he deemedimperialistic. Beginning with his opposition to Britain becoming involved in theIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation in 1965, he contested almost every British military intervention, arguing against Britain's involvement in theAden Emergency,[19] theFalklands War (especially the sinking of theGeneral Belgrano), theGulf War (where he declaredKuwait to be "the 19th bloody state of Iraq"),[20] theKosovo War and the2003 invasion of Iraq.[21] "I will resist a war with every sinew in my body", he said.[7] Dalyell was also a supporter of theChagossians in their campaign to return toDiego Garcia after beingexpelled in 1968.[22] When invited by a television journalist to rankTony Blair among the eight Prime Ministers he had observed as aparliamentarian, he cited Blair's policies in Kosovo and Iraq as reasons for placing his party leader at the bottom of the list. He was also a strong presence in Parliament concerningLibya and led no fewer than 17adjournment debates on theLockerbie bombing,[23][24] in which he repeatedly demanded answers by the Government to the reports ofHans Köchler, United Nations observer at the Lockerbie trial.[25]
In February 2003, he became the first Father of the House to be ordered to leave the chamber, after asking questions about the government's "dossier" on weapons in Iraq.[26] Following his outspoken opposition to the2003 invasion of Iraq and criticism of the Government,Downing Street suggested that he might face withdrawal of theLabourwhip.[27] In May, the American magazineVanity Fair reported Dalyell indirectly as having said that Prime MinisterTony Blair was unduly influenced by a "cabal of Jewish advisers".[28] He specifically namedLord Levy, who was Blair's official representative in the Middle East, and Labour politiciansPeter Mandelson (whose father was Jewish) andJack Straw (whose great-grandfather was Jewish). Mandelson said that "apart from the fact that I amnot actually Jewish, I wear my father's parentage with pride".[29] Dalyell denied accusations that the remarks wereanti-Semitic.[30][31][32] In March 2003, regarding the2003 invasion of Iraq, Dalyell accused Blair of being a war criminal. He stated that "since Mr Blair is going ahead with his support for a US attack without unambiguous UN authorisation, he should be branded as a war criminal and sent toThe Hague".[33]
On 7 March 2003, Dalyell was elected asRector of the University of Edinburgh.[34] After a three-year term, he was succeeded in 2006 byMark Ballard. It was announced on 13 January 2004 that Dalyell would not seek re-election as an MP at the next general election,[5] and he left the House of Commonsin April 2005 after 43 years as a Member of Parliament.[35] He had been Scotland's longest-serving MP since the resignation ofBruce Millan in 1988. He was succeeded asFather of the House byAlan Williams. In 2009,The Daily Telegraph reported that Dalyell had submitted an expenses claim for £18,000 for three bookcases just two months before his retirement from the House of Commons.[36] Dalyell claimed that this was a legitimate expense to which he was entitled;[37] the House of Commons' Fees Office released £7,800.
Dalyell was given an honorary doctorate byHeriot-Watt University in 2011.[38]
Dalyell married Kathleen Wheatley, a teacher, on 26 December 1963;[39] she was the elder daughter ofJohn Wheatley, Lord Advocate and Labour MP for East Edinburgh.[4] They have a son Gordon Wheatley Dalyell,[40] and a daughter Moira, both of whom are lawyers. In his retirement, and for some years previously, he contributed obituaries toThe Independent.[4] In 2011 he published his autobiography,The Importance of Being Awkward. The dedication is "To the men and women of West Lothian – Labour, SNP, Conservative, Liberal, Communist – who, whatever their political opinions, were kind to me in all sorts of ways over 43 years as their representative in the House of Commons."[41]
Dalyell died at theHouse of the Binns on 26 January 2017, at the age of 84, following a brief, undisclosed illness.[4][42]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWest Lothian 1962–1983 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forLinlithgow 1983–2005 | |
| Preceded by | Father of the House 2001–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Rector of the University of Edinburgh 2003–2006 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of Nova Scotia | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Binns) 1972–2017 | Succeeded by |
