Cathy Jamieson

Cathy Jamieson
Official portrait, 2003
Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland[a]
Acting
28 June 2008 – 13 September 2008
UK party leaderGordon Brown
Preceded byWendy Alexander
Succeeded byIain Gray
Acting
15 August 2007 – 14 September 2007
UK party leaderGordon Brown
Preceded byJack McConnell
Succeeded byWendy Alexander
Acting
8 November 2001 – 22 November 2001
UK party leaderTony Blair
Preceded byHenry McLeish
Succeeded byJack McConnell
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland[a]
In office
21 October 2000 – 28 June 2008
Leader
  • Henry McLeish
  • Jack McConnell
  • Wendy Alexander
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJohann Lamont
Ministerial offices
Minister for Justice
In office
21 May 2003 – 17 May 2007
First MinisterJack McConnell
Preceded byJim Wallace
Succeeded byKenny MacAskill
Minister for Education and Young People
In office
22 November 2001 – 20 May 2003
First MinisterJack McConnell
Preceded byJack McConnell
Succeeded byPeter Peacock
Further offices held
Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office
8 October 2011 – 8 May 2015
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byDavid Hanson
Succeeded byRichard Burgon
Parliamentary Business Manager of the Scottish Labour Party
In office
18 May 2007 – 18 September 2007
Leader
  • Jack McConnell
  • Herself (acting)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byPaul Martin
Member of Parliament
for Kilmarnock and Loudoun
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byDes Browne
Succeeded byAlan Brown
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
In office
6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byAdam Ingram
Personal details
Born
Catherine Mary Jamieson

(1956-11-03) 3 November 1956 (age 68)
Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland
Political partyScottish Labour and Co-operative Party
Alma materGlasgow School of Art
Goldsmiths College
University of Glasgow
Glasgow Caledonian University
Websitewww.cathyjamieson.com

Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She previously served in the Scottish Executive as Minister for Justice from 2003 to 2007 and Minister for Education and Young People from 2001 to 2003. Jamieson was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley from 1999 to 2011 and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2010 to 2015.

Born in Kilmarnock, Jamieson was educated at James Hamilton Academy and later studied Fine Art at the Glasgow School of Art, before gaining a Higher National Diploma in Art at Goldsmiths College in London. She trained as an art therapist, but decided to take a career in social work. In 1983, Jamieson gained a Certificate of Qualification in Social Work from the University of Glasgow. After graduating, she worked in various posts within the Strathclyde Regional Council and worked for Who Cares? Scotland from 1992 to 1999. Jamieson stood as a Labour candidate in the 1999 election to the 1st Scottish Parliament. After a successful campaign, she was elected to represent the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency. As a backbencher, Jamieson various Scottish Parliament committees and was the deputy convenor of the European Committee. Following the death of Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish was elected Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland and Jamieson was elected unopposed as his deputy leader, the first officeholder. In the aftermath of McLeish's resignation, she served as the acting Leader until Jack McConnell was elected as the new Labour leader.

Following McConnell's appointment as First Minister of Scotland in 2001, Jamieson was appointed to the Scottish Cabinet to serve as the Minister for Education and Young People. As the Education Minister, she conducted a reform of the Scottish Qualifications Authority and successfully passed the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 through the parliament, which sought to set up a list of people unsuitable to work with children, maintained by Disclosure Scotland. In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Jamieson was re-elected and was appointed the Minister for Justice in McConnell's second 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's Civil Justice system. Jamieson made attempts to ban Buckfast, a popular drink among underage drinkers, however, she was unsuccessful as the company threatened to take legal action against the Scottish Executive. In early 2005, it was revealed her nephew, Derek Hyslop, tried to blackmail 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 the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish Labour Party were defeated by the Scottish 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 until Wendy Alexander was elected. Jamieson continued to serve as the Deputy Leader until she resigned in June 2008 to stand for election as the Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland following Alexander's resignation. She came second, having been defeated by Iain Gray. Jamieson was appointed by Gray as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. Jamieson stood down as an MSP in the 2011 election and ran as a candidate at the 2010 UK general election. She was elected to the House of Commons, representing the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. Under Ed Miliband, Jamieson was appointed in 2011 as the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury within the Official Opposition frontbench. At the 2015 general election, she was defeated by the SNP candidate Alan Brown, at what was a landslide defeat for Scottish Labour after 51 years of domination of Scottish politics at Westminster.

Since leaving Parliament, Jamieson became CEO of CareVisions Ltd. In May 2018, she was appointed to the Kilmarnock Football Club board of directors.


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