Editing Gavin Strang (section)

==Parliamentary career==
Strang was first elected in the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]] after Labour MP [[George Willis (politician)|George Willis]], who had represented [[Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East]] since a [[1954 Edinburgh East by-election|1954 by-election]], retired. Strang was a minister under [[Harold Wilson]] and [[James Callaghan]], serving as [[Parliamentary Under Secretary of State]] at the [[Department of Energy (United Kingdom)|Department of Energy]] in 1974 and then at the [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]] until 1979. In 1990, he was the last person to ask [[Margaret Thatcher]] a question at [[Prime Minister's Questions]], which he used to criticise her impact on communities and the poor during her time in office.

Following the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], Strang was made [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of State for Transport]] with a seat in the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]. However, he was sacked in June 1998. After becoming a backbencher, he was sometimes critical of government policy. He campaigned against the privatisation of [[National Air Traffic Services]], and on 31 October 2006, was one of twelve Labour MPs to back [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Scottish National Party]]'s call for an inquiry into the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm | title=Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq | date=31 October 2006 | access-date=31 October 2006 | work=BBC News | archive-date=7 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707045426/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> From 1997 to the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]], his seat was named [[Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East and Musselburgh]].

Strang was a member of the [[Tribune Group of MPs]] and the [[Campaign for Labour Party Democracy]].<ref name="ora-2001">{{cite thesis |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6e09469d-854f-420c-8167-c755b1b919f1/download_file?safe_filename=602322115.pdf&file_format=application%2Fpdf&type_of_work=Thesis |title=The Labour Party and the Labour left |page=289 (Appendix 2) |publisher=Brasenose College, Oxford University |year=2001 |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref><ref name="home-2013">{{cite web |url=http://home.freeuk.com/clpd/cb76.pdf |title=Campaign Briefing |page=3 |publisher=Campaign for Labour Party Democracy |year=2013 |issue=76 |access-date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=16 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416161931/http://home.freeuk.com/clpd/cb76.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> He was Chairman of the [[All-Party Group for World Government]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oneworldtrust.org/?display=pgwg |title=One World Trust<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=28 January 2007 |archive-date=6 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206094900/http://www.oneworldtrust.org/?display=pgwg |url-status=live }}</ref> and served on the [[Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee]]. In November 2007, he announced he would stand down at the next [[2010 United Kingdom general election|general election]],<ref>[http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1855382007 Strang ready to quit Commons at next election], ''[[Edinburgh Evening News]]'', 26 November 2007</ref> but later reversed the decision. On 27 June 2008, Strang again changed his mind, and announced that he would indeed stand down at the next general election.<ref>[http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Strang-thinks-again-and-vows.4231109.jp Strang thinks again and vows to quit as MP in latest U-turn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630060359/http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Strang-thinks-again-and-vows.4231109.jp |date=30 June 2008 }}, ''[[The Scotsman]]'', 27 June 2008</ref>