Jim Murphy
Encyclopedia
James Francis "Jim" Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a British
Labour Party
politician
and is the Member of Parliament
(MP) for East Renfrewshire
.
He is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
. From October 2008 to May 2010 he served in government as Secretary of State for Scotland
. Prior to this, he served as Minister for Europe from 2007–08, the Minister of State
for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2006–07, and as Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office
from 2005–06.
Murphy is co-chairing the review of the Labour Party in Scotland
, commissioned by Ed Miliband
in May 2011, and due to report in the autumn of 2011.
, until the age of twelve, when he emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa, after his father became unemployed..
Murphy returned to Britain at the age of eighteen to study Politics and European Law at the University of Strathclyde
in Glasgow where he worked as a waiter in order to fund his studies.
, the Scottish 'special region' organisation within the NUS, in 1992 and served a term of office until 1994.
In 1994, Murphy took a sabbatical from university to serve as the President of the National Union of Students, an office which he held from 1994–96, during which time he was a member of Labour Students
. After this period, he did not return to his studies and did not take a degree.
During Murphy's presidency in 1995, the NUS dropped its opposition to the abolition of the student grant in line with the Labour Party's policies. Subsequently he was condemned by a House of Commons
Early Day Motion
introduced by Ken Livingstone
and signed by 17 Labour
MPs for "intolerant and dictatorial behaviour".
, he was unexpectedly elected as MP for the Eastwood constituency
, winning the formerly safe
Conservative
seat with a majority of 3,236.
From 2000-01, he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, which oversees public expenditure. In March 2001, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
(PPS) to Helen Liddell
, the Secretary of State for Scotland
.
he was re-elected as MP for Eastwood, with an increased majority of 9,141.
In June 2002, he was appointed as a government whip
, with responsibility for the Scotland Office
, Scottish Group of Labour MPs
and the Northern Ireland Office
. His responsibilities were changed in November 2002 to cover the Department of Trade and Industry instead of the Northern Ireland Office, and in June 2003 to cover the Scotland Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
, and the Department for International Development
.
, the Eastwood constituency was renamed East Renfrewshire
, although the boundaries were unchanged. Murphy was re-elected with a majority of 6,657 and promoted to ministerial rank as Parliamentary Under-Secretary
at the Cabinet Office
. His responsibilities included e-government, better regulation and public service modernisation.
He was promoted in May 2006 to Minister of State
for Employment and Welfare Reform, with responsibilities including employment, welfare reform and child poverty. In June 2007, he was appointed Minister for Europe. His portfolio included Public Diplomacy
.
In an October 2008 cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
appointed Murphy as Secretary of State for Scotland
.
was elected Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Cabinet Elections could take place.
Following the election of Ed Miliband
as Leader of the Opposition, in the Shadow Cabinet appointments that followed Murphy was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary on 8 October 2010.
published documents, compiled by a senior US official at the US Embassy in London and published by WikiLeaks
, it was revealed that throughout 2009, Jim Murphy was in charge of organising a coalition of Unionist parties whose aim was to "block an independence referendum" in Scotland. The documents state: Throughout 2009, UK Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy played a leadership role in organizing the opposition parties, hoping to move Scotland toward implementation of the Calman recommendations as an alternative to an independence referendum, according to Murphy's advisors, Labour party insiders, and opposition party leaders. First Minister Salmond's response to independence critics (such as Murphy) has been to accelerate the implementation of the Calman recommendations as soon as possible - "to call the bluff."
and captains the Parliamentary Football Team. Murphy also used to play Sunday football for Scotland sometimes with his two brothers and his dad all being in the same team.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and is the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)
East Renfrewshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
.
He is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Secretary of State for Defence
The Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
. From October 2008 to May 2010 he served in government as Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
. Prior to this, he served as Minister for Europe from 2007–08, the Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2006–07, and as Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office
Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The post of Minister of the Cabinet Office is sometimes derided as the Minister for the Today programme.-Ministers for the Cabinet Office:...
from 2005–06.
Murphy is co-chairing the review of the Labour Party in Scotland
Review of the Labour Party in Scotland
The Murphy and Boyack review is a report being compiled by Jim Murphy and Sarah Boyack on the future structure of the Labour Party in Scotland, in response to the landslide victory by the Scottish National Party in the Scottish general election of 2011...
, commissioned by Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
in May 2011, and due to report in the autumn of 2011.
Early life
Murphy was raised in a two-bedroom flat in Arden, GlasgowArden, Glasgow
Arden is the location of a medium-sized housing estate on the very edge of Glasgow, southwest of the city centre.-History:The S.S.H.A built the estate between 1953 and 1957, to rehouse families from the old overcrowded inner city tenements. Historically, Arden was a farm and formed part of Sir...
, until the age of twelve, when he emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa, after his father became unemployed..
Murphy returned to Britain at the age of eighteen to study Politics and European Law at the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in Glasgow where he worked as a waiter in order to fund his studies.
National Union of Students
During his time at university, he was elected President of the National Union of Students ScotlandNational Union of Students Scotland
The National Union of Students Scotland is an autonomous body within the National Union of Students. It is the national representative body of 530,000 students studying in further and higher education in Scotland and was formed following the merger of NUS in Scotland with the Scottish Union of...
, the Scottish 'special region' organisation within the NUS, in 1992 and served a term of office until 1994.
In 1994, Murphy took a sabbatical from university to serve as the President of the National Union of Students, an office which he held from 1994–96, during which time he was a member of Labour Students
Labour Students
Labour Students is a student organisation affiliated to the British Labour Party.Membership comprises affiliated college and university clubs . Membership of Labour Students is through membership of a university or college Labour Club. Affiliation is open to any Labour Club generally supportive of...
. After this period, he did not return to his studies and did not take a degree.
During Murphy's presidency in 1995, the NUS dropped its opposition to the abolition of the student grant in line with the Labour Party's policies. Subsequently he was condemned by a House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Early Day Motion
Early day motion
An Early Day Motion , in the Westminster system, is a motion, expressed as a single sentence, tabled by Members of Parliament for debate "on an early day" . Controversial EDMs are not signed by Government Ministers, PPS or the Speaker of the House of Commons and very few are debated on the floor...
introduced by Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
and signed by 17 Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MPs for "intolerant and dictatorial behaviour".
1997–2001
Murphy ended his term of office with the NUS in 1996 and at the 1997 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, he was unexpectedly elected as MP for the Eastwood constituency
Eastwood (UK Parliament constituency)
Eastwood was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- History :...
, winning the formerly safe
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
seat with a majority of 3,236.
From 2000-01, he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, which oversees public expenditure. In March 2001, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
(PPS) to Helen Liddell
Helen Liddell
Helen Lawrie Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Monklands East from 1994 to 1997, and then for Airdrie and Shotts until 2005, whereafter she became the British High Commissioner to Australia until 2009...
, the Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
.
2001–2005
At the 2001 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
he was re-elected as MP for Eastwood, with an increased majority of 9,141.
In June 2002, he was appointed as a government whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, with responsibility for the Scotland Office
Scotland Office
The Scotland Office is a United Kingdom government department headed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and responsible for Scottish affairs...
, Scottish Group of Labour MPs
Parliamentary Labour Party
In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party is the parliamentary party of the Labour Party in Parliament: Labour MPs as a collective body....
and the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
. His responsibilities were changed in November 2002 to cover the Department of Trade and Industry instead of the Northern Ireland Office, and in June 2003 to cover the Scotland Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, and the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
.
2005–2010
For the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, the Eastwood constituency was renamed East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire (UK Parliament constituency)
East Renfrewshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in Scotland to the south of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
, although the boundaries were unchanged. Murphy was re-elected with a majority of 6,657 and promoted to ministerial rank as Parliamentary Under-Secretary
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
. His responsibilities included e-government, better regulation and public service modernisation.
He was promoted in May 2006 to Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Employment and Welfare Reform, with responsibilities including employment, welfare reform and child poverty. In June 2007, he was appointed Minister for Europe. His portfolio included Public Diplomacy
Public diplomacy
In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is the communication with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. There is no one definition of Public Diplomacy, and may be easier described than easily defined as definitions...
.
In an October 2008 cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
appointed Murphy as Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
.
2010–
After Labour lost the May 2010 Election, Murphy shadowed the role of Scottish Secretary until Ed MilibandEd Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
was elected Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Cabinet Elections could take place.
Following the election of Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
as Leader of the Opposition, in the Shadow Cabinet appointments that followed Murphy was appointed Shadow Defence Secretary on 8 October 2010.
Labour Party Groups
As a Government Minister, Murphy's membership of these groups was suspended in line with the Ministerial Code.- Vice Chair Labour’s Departmental Treasury Committee (1997–2001)
- Vice Chair Labour’s Departmental Culture, Media and Sport Committee (1997–2001)
- Member of Labour’s Northern Ireland Committee
- Chair Labour Friends of IsraelLabour Friends of IsraelLabour Friends of Israel is a lobby group promoting support within the British Labour Party for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Israel. It also seeks to strengthen ties between the British and the Israeli Labour party...
(2000–2002)
WikiLeaks
In 2011, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
published documents, compiled by a senior US official at the US Embassy in London and published by WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
, it was revealed that throughout 2009, Jim Murphy was in charge of organising a coalition of Unionist parties whose aim was to "block an independence referendum" in Scotland. The documents state: Throughout 2009, UK Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy played a leadership role in organizing the opposition parties, hoping to move Scotland toward implementation of the Calman recommendations as an alternative to an independence referendum, according to Murphy's advisors, Labour party insiders, and opposition party leaders. First Minister Salmond's response to independence critics (such as Murphy) has been to accelerate the implementation of the Calman recommendations as soon as possible - "to call the bluff."
Personal life
Jim Murphy is married to Claire, a primary school teacher; they have three children, two at primary school and one at high school. Murphy is a season ticket holder at Celtic Football ClubCeltic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
and captains the Parliamentary Football Team. Murphy also used to play Sunday football for Scotland sometimes with his two brothers and his dad all being in the same team.
External links
- Jim Murphy MP official site
- Profile: Jim Murphy BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
,_17_October 2002
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