Brian Monteith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the European Parliament forNorth East England | |
| In office 2 July 2019 – 31 January 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Arnott |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forMid Scotland and Fife (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| In office 6 May 1999 – 3 May 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-01-08)8 January 1958 (age 67) Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Political party | Brexit (since 2019) |
| Other political affiliations | Conservative (before 2019) |
| Education | Portobello High School |
| Alma mater | Heriot-Watt University |
Brian Monteith (born 8 January 1958) is a British politician, public relations consultant and commentator. As a member of theScottish Conservatives, he was aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for theMid Scotland and Fife region from1999 to2007. Later a member of theBrexit Party, he was aMember of the European Parliament (MEP) forNorth East England from2019 to 2020.
Monteith was born in January 1958 inEdinburgh, Scotland. He was educated atPortobello High School andHeriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He was a member of theFederation of Conservative Students.[1] He also organised a successful campaign to take Heriot-Watt out of theNational Union of Students which they subsequently rejoined.
Following university Monteith initially worked as a researcher forThatcherite London-based think tank, theCentre for Policy Studies.
Monteith moved on to work in thepublic relations arena for Michael Forsyth Associates – Monteith shared a flat in London with his mentor and bossMichael Forsyth. Later Monteith set up Leith Communications public relations company in Edinburgh. The company however went bust in the early 1990s owing over £50,000 to creditors. This crisis forced Monteith to withdraw from standing for theScottish Conservative Party againstLabour'sJohn Smith inMonklands East in the1992 general election.
Monteith went on to be the leader of the unsuccessful Think Twice "No-No" campaign in the1997 Scottish devolution referendum which opposed the creation of theScottish Parliament.[2]
Monteith was elected to theScottish Parliament as aScottish Conservative and Unionist Party list member for theMid Scotland and Fife region at the1999 election. After election to the Scottish parliament Monteith developed a reputation as aThatcherite disciple of formerScottish Secretary Michael Forsyth.[3] He later argued in favour of giving more financial powers to the Scottish Parliament and wanted to move his party in a different direction ideologically and strategically.
Between 1999 and 2003 Montieth was the Conservative Party's Education, Arts, Culture & Sport spokesperson.[4] In July 2005 Monteith resigned though as the Finance Spokesperson, stating that he wanted the freedom to discuss policy matters that "cut across other policy portfolios". Later that year the Scottish Conservative Party withdrew the whip from Monteith when it emerged that he had been briefing the media against the then Scottish Conservative leaderDavid McLetchie regarding questions over McLetchie's £11,500 of claims for taxi expenses.[5][6]
In 2006 Monteith announced he would not stand again as an MSP, saying he "would rather return to commerce than be a one-man band swimming against the treacly tide of collectivism in the Scottish Parliament".[7]
Monteith was elected as an MEP for theBrexit Party in theNorth East England constituency at the2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom.[8] During the election campaign, it was revealed Monteith's candidature listed a French address as his principal place of residence on his nomination papers, a practice allowed in European Parliament elections. He later revealed that he would be relocating to the United Kingdom.[9]
Monteith is a former chairman ofEnglish-Speaking Union Scotland and has had two stints working for theBotswanan government. Monteith is also an acquaintance of indicted American lobbyistJack Abramoff.[10][11]
Monteith is also in the course of writing a second book and writes regularly for many newspapers including a regular opinion column for theEdinburgh Evening News. He is also well known for being a supporter ofHibernian. His two sons are presently on the books ofEdinburgh City.
Monteith is currently the editor of ThinkScotland.org and communications director of the lobbyists Global Britain. From December 2015 Brian Monteith was seconded toLeave.EU for the duration of the referendum campaign. He lives in thecommune of Trevien in thedepartment of Tarn in southernFrance.[12][13][14]
