John Scott (MSP)

William John Graham Scott OBE (born 7 June 1951) is a Scottish farmer and former Scottish Conservative politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr from 2000 to 2021.

For other people named John Scott, see John Scott (disambiguation).

John Scott
OBE
Official portrait, 2011
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
In office
11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016
Serving with Elaine Smith
Presiding OfficerTricia Marwick
Preceded byAlasdair Morgan
Succeeded byChristine Grahame
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Ayr
In office
16 March 2000 – 5 May 2021
Preceded byIan Welsh
Succeeded bySiobhian Brown
Personal details
Born (1951-06-07) 7 June 1951
Girvan, Scotland
Political partyScottish Conservatives

Background

Born in Girvan, Scott was educated at Barrhill Primary in South Ayrshire and George Watson's College in Edinburgh. He has a Bachelor of Science degree for Civil Engineering from the University of Edinburgh.

Scott played for the Wigtownshire Rugby Club from 1969 to 1973, a hobby he enjoys to this day.

Scott established the Ayrshire Farmers Market in 1999 and founded the Scottish Association for Farmers in 2001. He tends to his farm in Balkissock outside of Ballantrae in South Ayrshire, whilst also owning a flat in the town of Ayr.[1]

Political career

Scott stood as the Conservative candidate for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, finishing third behind Labour and the Scottish National Party with 8,123 votes (19.8%). He has served as constituency MSP for Ayr since winning the constituency in a by-election in 2000. He was returned to Parliament at the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election and again, with an increased majority, at the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election. At the 2011 and 2016 elections he retained the constituency with a reduced majority, despite seeing his vote increase by 3,564 between 2007 and 2016.

Scott declared his support for Ruth Davidson in the Scottish Conservative leader election.[2] On 11 May 2011, he was elected by MSPs to serve as one of the two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament.[3] He served until 2016 when he was unsuccessful in his attempt to become Presiding Officer.

Scott was the Scottish Conservative spokesperson for sustainable development between 2016 and 2021, having previously served as spokesperson for the environment from 2001 until 2003 and as spokesperson on rural affairs from 2007 until 2011.[4] He was appointed as the convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament in June 2016.[5] In 2021, he lost his seat to the Scottish National Party's Siobhian Brown.[6]

Scott was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for political and public service.[7][8]

Controversy

Scott came under fire after it emerged that he profited from wind energy investments – despite his party having previously opposed the development of such projects. The Register of Interests for Mr Scott states: "From 6 March 2009 part of the Farm’s income comes from a contract with CRE Energy Ltd to provide access over the farm for the purpose of building and maintaining a windfarm".[9]

References
  1. "John Scott MSP". South Ayrshire Conservative and Unionists. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  2. "Letter: Murdo's plan is reckless and misguided". Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011.
  3. "SNP MSP Tricia Marwick elected presiding officer". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  4. "Scottish Conservative appointments for new parliamentary term". Scottish Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. "Memberhip". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  6. "SNP take Ayr from Conservatives in second gain". The Herald. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  7. "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N15.
  8. "New Year Honours: Chief Medical Officer Gregor Smith knighted". BBC News. 31 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  9. "SNP accuse Tory MSPs of 'double-standards' over private wind farm interests". Scottish Energy News.
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