2008 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 2008 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Alex Salmond
• Secretary of State for Scotland – Des Browne until 3 October; then Jim Murphy

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Elish Angiolini
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Frank Mulholland
• Advocate General for Scotland – Lord Davidson of Glen Clova

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Hamilton
• Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Gill
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord McGhie

Events

January

• January – first phase of Whitelee Wind Farm, which will be the largest wind farm in Europe, begins feeding electricity to the grid.

February

• 1 February – Eigg Electrical begins generation of the island's entire electricity supply from renewable energy sources.

April

• 6 April – the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force.^[1]

May

• 19 May – First ScotRail reopens the railway line from Stirling to Alloa for passengers.

June

• 4 June – Gretna F.C., just relegated from the Scottish Premier League, go out of business with debts of £4,000,000.^[2]

July

• 7 July – The Antonine Wall, part of the ancient Roman limes, is designated as a World Heritage Site.
• 25 July – Old Monach lighthouse on Shillay, Monach Islands, re-lit.^[3]

November

• 6 November – Lindsay Roy retains the seat for the Labour Party at the Glenrothes by-election with a majority of 6,737 votes. The previous Labour MP John MacDougall died on 13 August 2008 from pleural mesothelioma.^[4]
• 14 November – Sixteen-year-old Nicolle Earley kills 63-year-old Ann Gray at her home in Crosshill, Fife.^[5]
• 19 November – Clackmannanshire Bridge over the Firth of Forth at Kincardine is opened to traffic.
• 20 November – Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon is named Scottish Politician of the Year.^[6]

December

• 18 December – Woolworths announce their 807 UK stores will close by 5 January 2009.^[7]
• 27 December – first seventeen of Woolworths branches in Scotland close, with the rest to follow shortly.^[8]

Deaths

• 27 July – Bob Crampsey, historian, author and broadcaster (born 1930)
• 8 October – John Bannerman, historian of Gaelic Scotland (born 1932)
• 5 November – Ian Anderson, footballer (born 1954)
• 18 December – Hannah Frank, visual artist (born 1908)

The arts

• Alternative hip hop group Young Fathers forms in Edinburgh.
• Peter Maxwell Davies composes his String Trio.
• Supermarionation band is formed in Edinburgh.^[9]

See also

• Timeline of Scottish history
• 2008 in England
• 2008 in Northern Ireland
• 2008 in the United Kingdom
• 2008 in Wales

Notes and References

1. Web site: Understanding the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Ministry of Justice. 2007-10-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20071025031113/http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/manslaughterhomicideact07.pdf. 25 October 2007. dead.
2. News: Gretna finally go to the wall. London. The Guardian. Ewan. Murray. 4 June 2008. 21 September 2011.
3. Web site: Monach. Lighthouse Library. Northern Lighthouse Board. Edinburgh. 2009. 2016-03-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011630/http://www.nlb.org.uk/LighthouseLibrary/Lighthouse/Monach/. 5 March 2016. dead.
4. News: Labour victorious in Glenrothes. 6 November 2008. BBC News. 2008-11-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20081106010852/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7710999.stm. 6 November 2008. live.
5. Web site: Teenage girl given life for cigarette row murder. BBC News. 2010-02-23. 2014-06-16.
6. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7728846.stm Sturgeon named politician of year
7. News: Woolworths to close in January. 2009-03-18. 17 December 2008. BBC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20090226042139/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7787904.stm. 26 February 2009 . live.
8. News: Scots Woolworths stores shut down. 2011-09-21. 27 December 2008. BBC News.
9. Web site: Somojo Magazine. somojomagazine.com . 2011-09-20.