John Barrett (British politician)
| John Barrett | |
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| Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West |
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In office 8 June 2001 – 12 April 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Donald Gorrie |
| Succeeded by | Michael Crockart |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
11 February 1954 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Carol |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Alma mater | Napier Polytechnic |
John Andrew Barrett (born 11 February 1954) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West.
John Barrett was educated at the Forrester High School in Edinburgh, Telford College and Napier Polytechnic (Now Napier University). He also attended Cornell University (New York State) summer sessions in Development Communication and returned to Cornell as a teaching assistant.
He joined the Scottish Liberal Party in 1980 and was the election agent for Veronica Crerar when she won the South East Corstorphine ward in 1984. He was also the election agent at council and parliamentary elections for Donald Gorrie. John Barrett was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council for South-East Corstorphine ward in 1995 and was elected Chairman of the Liberal Democrat Group from 1995 to 2001. He was the election agent for Donald Gorrie in Edinburgh West when the Liberal Democrats won the seat from the Conservatives at the 1997 General Election.
He married Carol [1], a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and well known wildlife artist. They have one daughter, Sarah, and two granddaughters, Maria and Hope. They live in Edinburgh.
In 2000, Donald Gorrie decided to stand down from House of Commons to concentrate on the Scottish Parliament. John Barrett won the nomination to defend Edinburgh West at the 2001 general election, which he did by 7,589 votes. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 13 July 2001. John Barrett sat on the International Development Select Committee between 2001 and 2007, and was made a party spokesman on International Development in 2003. He was promoted by Charles Kennedy in December 2005 to Shadow Minister of State for Scotland, while continuing as a spokesman on International Development. Since 2008 he has also been a spokesman on Work and Pensions with a focus on disability issues.
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