Cathy Jamieson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting 28 June 2008 – 13 September 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK party leader | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Wendy Alexander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Iain Gray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting 15 August 2007 – 14 September 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK party leader | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jack McConnell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wendy Alexander | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Acting 8 November 2001 – 22 November 2001 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UK party leader | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Henry McLeish | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jack McConnell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 21 October 2000 – 28 June 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader |
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| Preceded by | Position established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Johann Lamont | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Catherine Mary Jamieson (1956-11-03)3 November 1956 (age 68) Kilmarnock,Ayrshire, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Scottish Labour andCo-operative Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Glasgow School of Art Goldsmiths College University of Glasgow Glasgow Caledonian University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently adirector atKilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as theDeputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She previously served in theScottish Executive asMinister for Justice from 2003 to 2007 andMinister for Education and Young People from 2001 to 2003. Jamieson wasMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) forCarrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley from1999 to 2011 and was aMember of Parliament (MP) forKilmarnock and Loudoun from2010 to2015.
Born in Kilmarnock, Jamieson was educated atJames Hamilton Academy and later studiedFine Art at theGlasgow School of Art, before gaining aHigher National Diploma in Art atGoldsmiths College in London. She trained as an art therapist, but decided to take a career in social work. In 1983, Jamieson gained aCertificate of Qualification in Social Work from theUniversity of Glasgow. After graduating, she worked in various posts within theStrathclyde Regional Council and worked for Who Cares? Scotland from 1992 to 1999. Jamieson stood as a Labour candidate in the1999 election to the1st Scottish Parliament. After a successful campaign, she was elected to represent theCarrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency. As a backbencher, Jamieson variousScottish Parliament committees and was thedeputy convenor of the European Committee. Following thedeath of Donald Dewar,Henry McLeish was electedLeader of the Labour Party in Scotland and Jamieson was elected unopposed as hisdeputy leader, the first officeholder. In the aftermath ofMcLeish's resignation, she served as the acting Leader untilJack McConnell was elected as the new Labour leader.
Following McConnell's appointment asFirst Minister of Scotland in 2001, Jamieson was appointed to theScottish Cabinet to serve as theMinister for Education and Young People. As the Education Minister, she conducted a reform of theScottish Qualifications Authority and successfully passed theProtection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 through the parliament, which sought to set up a list of people unsuitable to work with children, maintained byDisclosure Scotland. In the2003 Scottish Parliament election, Jamieson was re-elected and was appointed theMinister for Justice in McConnell'ssecond cabinet reshuffle. As the Justice Minister, she took a leading role on anti-social behaviour, tackling violence and sectarianism and commissioned a major review of Scotland'sCivil Justice system. Jamieson made attempts to banBuckfast, a popular drink among underage drinkers, however, she was unsuccessful as the company threatened to take legal action against theScottish Executive. In early 2005, it was revealed her nephew, Derek Hyslop, tried toblackmail her. In 1999, Jamieson sent £100 to Hyslop following the birth of his son, but he claimed it was sent to help him evade the police while he was on the run.
At the2007 Scottish Parliament election, theScottish Labour Party were defeated by theScottish National Party (SNP), by just a single seat; ending eight years of Labour-Lib Dem devolved governance in Scotland. McConnell announced his resignation as the Leader of Scottish Labour and Jamieson served as acting leader untilWendy Alexander was elected. Jamieson continued to serve as the Deputy Leader until she resigned in June 2008 to stand for election as theLeader of the Labour Party in Scotland following Alexander's resignation. She came second, having been defeated byIain Gray. Jamieson was appointed by Gray asShadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. Jamieson stood down as an MSP in the 2011 election and ran as a candidate at the2010 UK general election. She was elected to the House of Commons, representing theKilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. UnderEd Miliband, Jamieson was appointed in 2011 as theShadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury within theOfficial Opposition frontbench. At the2015 general election, she was defeated by the SNP candidateAlan Brown, at what was a landslide defeat for Scottish Labour after 51 years of domination of Scottish politics at Westminster.
Since leaving Parliament, Jamieson becameCEO of CareVisions Ltd. In May 2018, she was appointed to theKilmarnock Football Club board of directors.
Catherine Mary Jamieson was born on 3 November 1956 inKilmarnock, East Ayrshire.[1] Jamieson was educated atJames Hamilton Academy, before obtaining a BA (Hons) inFine Art at theGlasgow School of Art and aHigher National Diploma in Art atGoldsmiths College inLondon. She gained a Management qualification from theGlasgow Caledonian University and later a post graduate Certificate of Qualification in social work from theUniversity of Glasgow.[2]
After training as an art therapist, Jamieson turned tosocial work, becoming principal officer of an advocacy organisation for young people in care. She was also a member of theEdinburgh inquiry into abuse inresidential care and served on the management and advisory committees of several childcare agencies.
Jamieson was elected anMSP in the first1999 Scottish Parliament election. She was electedDeputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2000 in leadership elections following the death ofFirst Minister,Donald Dewar. The position of Deputy Leader was a first for the Scottish party, and Jamieson was elected unopposed.[3]
In 2001,Jack McConnell becameFirst Minister and Jamieson was appointedMinister for Education and Young People in the subsequent cabinet reshuffle.[4] She successfully shepherded theProtection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001[5] through parliament – legislation which set up a list of people unsuitable to work with children,[6] to be maintained byDisclosure Scotland.[7]
During her tenure as education minister, Jamieson reformed theScottish Qualifications Authority to reduce bureaucracy,[8] and commenced the largest school building programme seen in Scotland.[9] During theUK-wide fire strike in 2002, Jamieson was criticised for refusing to publicly endorse theExecutive's collectively agreed description of the fire strike as "unacceptable", and opposition MSPs called for her to be sacked. However, the First Minister issued a statement of public support for Jamieson and took no action.[10]
Jamieson was appointedMinister for Justice following the2003 Scottish Parliament election.[11] During her tenure, in addition to taking a substantial justicelegislative programme through parliament (14 bills including reform of courts, protections for vulnerable witnesses, measures on the management of offenders, policing, family law, legal aid, the legal profession and the establishment of theScottish Commission on Human Rights) she took a leading role on anti-social behaviour, tackling violence and sectarianism and commissioned a major review of Scotland'sCivil Justice system.
In February 2005, it was revealed that Jamieson's nephew, Derek Hyslop, tried toblackmail her in 2001 while she was Education Minister. Hyslop was serving a jail sentence formanslaughter, and sent her a Christmas card demanding money, threatening to reveal his criminal convictions if she did not pay him.[12] Jamieson had paid £100 into his bank account in 1999, following the birth of his son, and Hyslop tried to claim that she made the payment to help him evade the police while he was on the run.[13]
One of the major crises to face Jamieson during her time as Minister for Justice, was the scandals occurring after the transfer ofprisoner escort duties from the police to a private company, Reliance Security Group. Four days following the transfer, Reliance accidentally released a convicted killer atHamilton Sheriff Court.[14] Jamieson later criticised Reliance and their security methods, but defended the principle of using a private company to transfer prisoners.[15] Opposition parties later called for her to resign, calls that Jamieson rejected, stating "I think the responsibility on a minister is to ensure that problems are solved... Some people in the face of problems might turn away, might walk away from them. I have no intention of doing that and I never did."[16]
One of the more high-profile campaigns launched by Jamieson was a campaign to banBuckfast, a tonic wine popular with some underage drinkers in parts of Scotland. She campaigned against shops in her Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency to limit sales of the drink, claiming it was "linked to anti-social behaviour among young people". The distributors of Buckfast later threatened legal action against the Minister, stating it was harming sales,[17] although the reported effect was that Buckfast sales had actually increased substantially in the months following her comments.[18] On a subsequent visit toAuchinleck, a town within her constituency, she faced an impromptu demonstration byteenagers chanting "Don't ban Buckie".[19] In 2005, she co-introduced the jointScottish Executive andHome Office consultation on criminalising possession of "extreme pornography", which claimed the intention"to reduce the demand for such material and to send a clear message that it has no place in our society".[20] She referred to such material as "abhorrent".[21] The plans have been opposed by groups such as the umbrella groupBacklash.
Following theScottish National Party (SNP) victory at the2007 Scottish Parliament election, Jamieson was appointedShadow Minister for Parliamentary Business[22] and was selected as Labour's appointment to the Parliamentary Bureau.
AfterJack McConnell's resignation as Scottish Labour Leader on 15 August, Jamieson was acting leader until 14 September 2007, whenWendy Alexander took over the leadership who appointed Jamieson as her deputy but without a portfolio spokesperson's role.[23]
On 29 July 2008, Jamieson announced her intention to stand for the Scottish Labour leadership. After the contest with candidates Iain Gray and Andy Kerr, Jamieson came second to Gray during the election night on 13 September 2008.[24][25] On 16 September, Gray announced the appointment of Jamieson as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.[26]
Jamieson was electedMP forKilmarnock and Loudoun in the2010 general election, after winning with a majority of 12,378 and 52.5% of the vote.[27] An opponent of theTrident nuclear weapons system, Jamieson became secretary of theWestminster Parliamentary CND group.[28] Following her election to theHouse of Commons, she did not seek re-election for her Scottish Parliament seat in the2011 election.
Before the 2010 election, Jamieson had faced the announcement fromDiageo in 2009 to pull historic links withKilmarnock, announcing they would be moving theJohnnie Walker company to Fife, ending the 189-year link the brand had with the town.[29] She strongly criticisedAlex Salmond'sSNP government and its candidate for Kilmarnock and Loudoun after they announced no money would be coming from the SNP to help create new jobs in Kilmarnock. She said the announcement was a "huge blow for the local area" and worked with a local taskforce to put pressure on the SNP.[30]
UnderEd Miliband, Jamieson was appointed in 2011 as theShadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury within theOfficial Opposition frontbench. On being appointed, Jamieson said:
I am pleased to be joining the Shadow Treasury team. Every day we hear more about how people across the country are facing rising costs of living, and the fear of unemployment. We know that the Tory-led Government is cutting too far and too fast, and while their plan is hurting, it simply isn't working. Labour believes there is a better way to deal with the economy, and we've launched our 5 point plan for jobs and growth.[31]
In March 2012, two years after Jamieson became MP, the Johnnie Walker factory in Kilmarnock closed, resulting in the loss of more than 700 jobs. Jamieson described it as an "end of an era in Kilmarnock" and pledged to put pressure on Diageo to honour commitments for the "iconic" site to become a point of regrowth in Kilmarnock.[32]
At the2015 general election, Kilmarnock and Loudoun was gained by SNP candidateAlan Brown with a majority of 13,638 and 55.7% of the vote, an increase of 29.7%.[33]
Since leaving public office, Jamieson has been appointed as the CEO of Care Vision Children's Services. She has since committed much of her time to social work, with Care Vision providing residential and foster placements for vulnerable children and young people in Scotland.[34]
Jamieson joined the board of directors atKilmarnock Football Club as a director following the Kilmarnock Supporters Society Ltd (The Killie Trust) reaching their £100,000 funding target through the Trust in Killie initiative. This funding allowed Jamieson to take up the position of director on the board of management. Jamieson herself is a lifelong fan of the club.[35]
Jamieson currently lives inMauchline with her husband, Ian Sharpe.[36] She has one son and has been avegan since 1996.[37][38] After losing her seat, she becameCEO of CareVisions Ltd, a residential child care company in Scotland originating inDumfries and Galloway. In May 2018, she was appointed to theKilmarnock Football Club board of directors.[39]
| Scottish Parliament | ||
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| New parliament | Member of the Scottish Parliament forCarrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley 1999–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forKilmarnock & Loudoun 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Justice 2003–2007 | Succeeded byasCabinet Secretary for Justice |
| Preceded by | Minister for Education and Young People 2002–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Artists | |
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| People | |
