Torcuil Crichton | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of Parliament forNa h-Eileanan an Iar | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Angus MacNeil |
| Majority | 3,836 (28.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1964 (age 60) Isle of Lewis, Scotland |
| Political party | Labour |
| Website | www |
Torcuil Crichton (born December 1964) is aScottishLabour Party politician who has served as theMember of Parliament (MP) forNa h-Eileanan an Iar since2024.[1] He previously worked as a journalist and Gaelic broadcaster.[2]
Crichton was born in December 1964.[3] He is from Swordale inPoint,Isle of Lewis, where he grew up.[2][4] He attendedKnock primary school.[5]
He worked as a journalist with theWest Highland Free Press, and subsequently for theDaily Record for 12 years, leaving his role as Westminster editor in 2022.[6] He has also worked for theHerald andSunday Herald, as well as theBBC,[7] for whom he made a Gaelic TV documentary, broadcast onBBC Alba, on Donald Trump's motherMary Anne MacLeod's journey from theIsle of Lewis to America,Mathair a' Chinn-Suidhe – Trump's Mother.[8][9]
He co-wrote the Gaelic TV dramaEilbheas which first aired on BBC Alba in 2008 and received aBafta Scotland nomination.[10][11] He has also written a teenage novel,[12]Fo Bhruid, a modern Gaelic retelling ofKidnapped byRobert Louis Stevenson.[13]
Along with Malcolm Maclean he devised a temporary art installation,Sheòl an Iolaire, as a memorial marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking ofHMYIolaire, with the loss of 201 men, on 1 January 1919.[14][15] As of 2024[update] the memorial remains in place in Stornoway harbour.[16]
He was selected as a Labour parliamentary candidate in January 2023,[6] and elected in the2024 general election.
On entering parliament, he took theOath of Allegiance inGaelic using a Gaelic Bible.[17][18]
He has a brother, Donald, who stood as the Labour candidate forNa h-Eileanan an Iar in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, coming second toAlasdair Allan.[19]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNa h-Eileanan an Iar 2024–present | Incumbent |
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| National | |
| People | |