Editing Gavin Strang

{{Short description|Scottish politician (born 1943)}}{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Gavin Strang
| office              = [[Minister of State for Transport]]
| primeminister       = [[Tony Blair]]
| term_start          = 2 May 1997
| term_end            = 18 June 1998
| predecessor         = [[John Watts (British politician)|John Watts]]
| successor           = [[John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan|John Reid]]
| office1             = [[Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
| leader1             = [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]]<br>[[Tony Blair]]
| term_start1         = 5 November 1992
| term_end1           = 2 May 1997
| predecessor1        = [[Ron Davies (Welsh politician)|Ron Davies]]
| successor1          = [[Douglas Hogg]]
| office3             = [[Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (United Kingdom)|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food]]
| primeminister3      = [[Harold Wilson]]<br />[[James Callaghan]]
| term_start3         = 18 October 1974
| term_end3           = 4 May 1979
| predecessor3        = [[Edward Bishop, Baron Bishopston|Edward Bishop]]
| successor3          = [[Jerry Wiggin]]
| office4             = [[Department of Energy (United Kingdom)|Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy]]
| primeminister4      = [[Harold Wilson]]
| term_start4         = 7 March 1974
| term_end4           = 18 October 1974
| predecessor4        = [[Peter Emery]]
| successor4          = [[Alex Eadie]]
| office5             = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] <br> for [[Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East]]<br />{{nobold|[[Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East and Musselburgh]] (1997–2005)}}
| term_start5         = 18 June 1970
| term_end5           = 12 April 2010
| predecessor5        = [[George Willis (politician)|George Willis]]
| successor5          = [[Sheila Gilmore]]
| birthname           = Gavin Steel Strang
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1943|7|10}}
| birth_place         = [[Crieff]], [[Perthshire]], Scotland
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| alma_mater          = [[University of Edinburgh]]<br>[[Churchill College, Cambridge]]
| image               = Gavin Strang (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Strang in 1997
}}
'''Gavin Steel Strang''' (born 10 July 1943) is a [[Scottish Labour Party]] politician who served as [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East]] from [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]] until [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010]] (including two terms for [[Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East and Musselburgh]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Gavin Strang |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/dr-gavin-strang/index.html |website=Hansard |access-date=13 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517013813/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/dr-gavin-strang/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Parliamentary career for Dr Gavin Strang - MPs and Lords |url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/597/career |website=UK Parliament |access-date=13 May 2021 |language=en |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501005221/https://members.parliament.uk/member/597/career |url-status=live }}</ref> He served as a minister in the 1974–79 Labour government under Prime Ministers [[Harold Wilson]] and [[James Callaghan]], as well as in the Cabinet under [[Tony Blair]]. By the time of his retirement at the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], he was the longest-serving Scottish MP.

==Early life==
A farmer's son, Strang grew up in [[Perthshire]] and attended the independent [[Morrison's Academy]] in [[Crieff]]. After gaining a [[Bachelor of Science|BSc]] in Genetics from the [[University of Edinburgh]] in 1964, he gained a Diploma in Agricultural Science from [[Churchill College, Cambridge]] and a PhD in Agricultural Science from Edinburgh, presenting the thesis ''"The genetic aspects of litter productivity in British pigs"''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Strang|first=G. S.|date=1968|title=Genetic aspects of litter productivity in British pigs|url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/16048|language=en|journal=|access-date=22 February 2021|archive-date=2 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202081544/https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/16048|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1966 to 1968, he was a member of the Tayside Economic Planning Consultative Group and, from 1968 to 1970, was a scientist at the [[Agricultural and Food Research Council]] and Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh.

==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>

==Personal life==
Strang married Bettina in 1973. They have a son, and he has two step sons. His wife has been the chair of the arm of the advocacy organisation [[Europa Donna]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=EUROPA DONNA |url=http://www.cancerworld.org/EuropaDonna/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024022851/http://www.cancerworld.org/EuropaDonna/ |archive-date=24 October 2008 |access-date=8 October 2008 |website=Cancerworld}}</ref> Bettina died in 2016.

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-5037,00.html Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: Gavin Strang MP]
* [https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/gavin_strang/edinburgh_east TheyWorkForYou.com – Gavin Strang MP]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/693.stm BBC Politics]{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Hansard-contribs | dr-gavin-strang | Gavin Strang }}
*http://www.genetics.med.ed.ac.uk {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527142038/http://www.genetics.med.ed.ac.uk/ |date=27 May 2013 }}

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{{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for [[Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East]]|years=[[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970]]–[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]}}
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|-
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{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Member of Parliament for [[Edinburgh East and Musselburgh (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh East and Musselburgh]]}}|years=[[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]–[[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005]]}}
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{{s-off}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of State for Transport]]|years=1997–1998}}
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{{s-end}}

{{Blair Cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strang, Gavin}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:People educated at Morrison's Academy]]
[[Category:Scottish Labour MPs]]
[[Category:Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies]]
[[Category:People from Crieff]]
[[Category:Transport and General Workers' Union-sponsored MPs]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1970–1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1974–1979]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1979–1983]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1983–1987]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1987–1992]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1992–1997]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1997–2001]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2001–2005]]
[[Category:UK MPs 2005–2010]]
[[Category:New Labour]]