David Jackson CarlawCBE (born 12 April 1959) is a Scottish politician who served asLeader of the Scottish Conservative Party from February to July 2020, having acted in the position since August 2019. He previously served asDeputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019. He has been aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since2007, first as an additional member for theWest Scotland region and later for theEastwood constituency since2016.
Raised inNewton Mearns, Carlaw worked as a car salesman after education atThe Glasgow Academy. Elected to theScottish Parliament on theWest of Scotland regional list in2007 and2011, he was elected asDeputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the2011 deputy leadership election. He was subsequently madeScottish Conservative Spokesperson for Health and Sport. He was elected to the constituency ofEastwood in2016, which had contested previously in2003, 2007, and 2011, and following the election was madeShadow Cabinet Secretary for Europe and External Affairs andShadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Tourism.
Carlaw served as actingLeader of the Scottish Conservative Party from September 2018 to May 2019 duringRuth Davidson'smaternity leave and from August 2019 to February 2020 following Davidson's resignation as leader. He was elected Scottish Conservative leader in theFebruary 2020 leadership election, winning more than three-quarters of votes from party members. He resigned the leadership in July 2020, stating he was not the person best placed to lead the party into the2021 Scottish Parliament election.
Carlaw was raised inNewton Mearns and privately educated atThe Glasgow Academy.[1] He worked for 25 years as a car salesman and was joint head of FirstFord car dealership in the west of Scotland until it was placed intoreceivership in November 2002.[2] He was also a director of Wylies automotive services until it went intoadministration in February 2003.[3]
Carlaw joined the East Renfrewshire Conservatives in 1978. He was the Conservative candidate in the1982 Queen's Park by-election, and in the1983 general election inGlasgow Pollok. He was Chairman of theScottish Young Conservatives from 1984 to 1986, Chairman of Eastwood Conservatives from 1988 to 1992, and was Deputy Chairman of theScottish Conservatives from 1992 to 1998. He was reappointed Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservatives in 2005.[4]
In the run-up to the1997 Scottish devolution referendum Carlaw campaigned against the formation of a devolved Scottish Parliament alongside the Scottish Conservatives and theThink Twice campaign, advocating a No vote for both the question of the parliament's formation and whether the parliament should be granted tax-varying powers.[5][6]
Carlaw was unsuccessful as a candidate forEastwood in the2003,2007, and2011 Scottish Parliament elections. He was, however, elected on the party list under Scotland'sadditional member system in 2007 and 2011, representing theWest of Scotland region. He sat on the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament until mid-2018.[7]
In 2011, Carlaw stood as a candidate in theleadership election brought on byAnnabel Goldie's resignation. During the campaign, he was hospitalised withappendicitis.[8] Carlaw finished third behindRuth Davidson andMurdo Fraser.[9] He was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party andScottish Conservative Spokesperson for Health and Sport by Davidson following her victory.[10]
Carlaw became MSP for Eastwood in 2016, after defeating the incumbentKen Macintosh. He was re-appointed as of 28 June 2017 asShadow Cabinet Secretary for Europe and External Affairs andShadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Tourism. He supportedremain during the2016 EU referendum.[11] In September 2016, he was elected Convener of the Scottish Parliament's Cross Party Group on Building Bridges with Israel, the establishment of which he pledged to help in his 2016 election campaign.
Carlaw opposed the SNP's changes tocouncil tax in November 2016, believing the proposed changes would effectively put over 50% of property in East Renfrewshire in the top two council tax bands. Commenting against the decision, he maintained "the rise would unfairly hit working families and the elderly" and "will hit Eastwood residents hard".[12]
In February 2017, Carlaw was appointed Deputy Convener of the Cross Party Group on End-of-life Choices.
Following an attempt in March 2017 by the SNP to hold asecond Scottish independence referendum, Carlaw spoke against the attempt, describing it as "pointless" and unwanted". He pledged the Scottish Conservatives would not allow for a further referendum until the Scottish public showed clear support.[13]
Carlaw served as acting leader of the Scottish Conservatives while leader Ruth Davidson was on maternity leave from September 2018 until May 2019. Following her resignation in August 2019, he was appointed to serve a second term.[14][15] In his role as acting leader, he supported Brexit and u-turned on criticisms ofPrime Minister andConservative leaderBoris Johnson.[11] He was the incumbent when Johnson called the2019 general election, in which the party lost seven of their 13 seats from2017.[16]
On 6 January 2020, Carlaw confirmed his candidacy for theFebruary 2020 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election[17] and launched his campaign in Edinburgh on 15 January. He received support from Ruth Davidson,[18] Murdo Fraser,[19]Adam Tomkins,[20]Liz Smith,[21]Annie Wells andJamie Greene.[22] This gave Carlaw the position of favourite over his opponentMichelle Ballantyne. He centred his campaign around how he could beatNicola Sturgeon and theSNP in the next Scottish Parliament election and the local elections in 2022. He also promised to make the Scottish Conservatives more for the middle and working classes and continue to maintain the Scottish Conservatives as the main party of the Union.[22] Carlaw won the election with 4,917 votes in his favour, as opposed to 1,581 for Ballantyne.[23] He promised to provide a "clear, focused and ambitious alternative to the SNP".[24]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, theScottish Greens accused Carlaw in June 2020 of claiming an "outright falsehood" when he said the Scottish Parliament could be opened up quickly in order to hold theSNP government to account.[25] He initially supported the position of Boris Johnson to stick by Downing Street adviserDominic Cummings after alleged lockdown breaches but withdrew his support following criticism from leading figures in the Scottish party.[26]
On 30 July 2020, Carlaw announced his resignation as Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, stating he had reached the "simple if painful conclusion" he was not "the person best placed" to lead the party into thenext Scottish Parliament election, in 2021.[27] He wassucceeded byDouglas Ross.[28]
At the2021 Scottish Parliament election Carlaw was re-elected as MSP for Eastwood with an increased majority of 2,216 votes over the SNP, with his share of the vote increasing by 6.2%.[29] Polling expertJohn Curtice put Carlaw's victory down to tactical voting by unionist voters who had voted Labour in 2016.[30]
In December 2022, Carlaw was found to have breached the MSP code of conduct by not declaring a paid trip to Israel that was funded by theIsraeli Embassy.[31]
Carlaw lives inWaterfoot, East Renfrewshire. He is married and has two sons.[32]
| Scottish Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the Scottish Parliament forEastwood 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party 2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party 1992–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party 2011–2019 | Succeeded by |
