Archy Kirkwood

Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, PC (born 22 April 1946), is a British Liberal Democrat politician.

The Right Honourable
The Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope
PC
Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrats
In office
9 April 1992 – 1 May 1997
LeaderPaddy Ashdown
Preceded byJim Wallace
Succeeded byPaul Tyler
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a life peer
10 June 2005 – 2 September 2020
Member of Parliament
for Roxburgh and Berwickshire
In office
9 June 1983 – 11 April 2005
Preceded byConstituency created
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born (1946-04-22) 22 April 1946
NationalityBritish
Political partyLiberal Democrat
SpouseRosemary Chester
Alma materHeriot-Watt University

Education

Kirkwood was educated at Cranhill Secondary School[1] in Cranhill, Glasgow, and studied pharmacy at Heriot-Watt University, gaining a BSc in 1971. He became a solicitor in Hawick and Notary public.

Parliamentary career

Kirkwood first joined parliament in 1971 as a parliamentary assistant as part of the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust (now the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust) Political Fellowship Scheme.[2][3] In 1971 he worked for David Steel MP in the office of the Liberal Chief Whip.[4]

Kirkwood was the Liberal, and later Liberal Democrat, Member of Parliament for Roxburgh and Berwickshire from 1983 until 2005.

In 1986, he with two other MPs, Simon Hughes and Michael Meadowcroft, and the National League of Young Liberals and other parts of the party produced the booklet Across the Divide: Liberal Values on Defence and Disarmament. This was the rally call that defeated the party leadership in the debate over the issue of an independent nuclear deterrent. This led to Kirkwood and the other authors being jeered by other Liberal MPs and Peers at the 1986 Liberal Assembly.[5]

A Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Work and Pensions, Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope, is listed in the House of Lords Register of Interests (Session 2006–2007)[6] as the Chairman of the Unum Customer Advisory Panel for which he received payment from Unum. He received additional payments for other work for Unum.

Personal life

Kirkwood was knighted in the 2003 New Year Honours,[7][8] and dubbed by the Queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 3 July 2003.[9]

On 13 May 2005 it was announced that he would be created a life peer, and on 10 June 2005 he was created Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, of Kirkhope in the Scottish Borders.[10] He retired from the House of Lords on 2 September 2020.[11]

He married Rosemary Chester on 30 December 1972. Lady Kirkwood died on 22 October 2019.[12] They have a son and daughter.

References
  1. "site of Cranhill school – Wikimapia". wikimapia.org.
  2. "The Joseph Rowntree Inheritance 1904 – 2004" (PDF). 2004.
  3. "Sworn at, belittled, fired at will – the truth about working for an MP". The Guardian. 27 October 2018.
  4. "Archie Kirkwood, MP and David Steel, MP". Wellcome Collection. 1971–1974.
  5. Wood, Alan; Hodges, Anthony; Haigh, Amanda (25 September 1986). "Angry MPs condemn disloyalty over defence". The Times. No. 62572. UK. p. 4. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. "Register of Lords' Interests As Amended Session 2006 – 2007" (PDF).
  7. "No. 56797". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2002. p. 1.
  8. "BBC NEWS – In Depth – 2003 – New Year Honours – Knights bachelor – full list". BBC. 31 December 2002.
  9. "No. 57030". The London Gazette. 15 August 2003. p. 10218.
  10. "No. 57675". The London Gazette. 15 June 2005. p. 7779.
  11. "Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  12. "KIRKWOOD Rosemary Jane". The Scotsman. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
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