2016 in Scotland explained

Events from the year 2016 in Scotland.

Incumbents

• First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal – Nicola Sturgeon (reappointed on 18 May 2016)
• Secretary of State for Scotland – David Mundell

Law officers

• Lord Advocate – Frank Mulholland; then, from 1 June 2016, James Wolffe
• Solicitor General for Scotland – Lesley Thomson; then, from 1 June 2016, Alison Di Rollo
• Advocate General for Scotland – Lord Keen of Elie

Judiciary

• Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General – Lord Carloway
• Lord Justice Clerk – vacant until April; then Lady Dorrian
• Chairman of the Scottish Land Court – Lord Minginish

Events

January

• 1 January – Newly declassified records released by the Scottish Government show the workings of the Scottish Executive's first full year of operation, covering major events throughout the year 2000; including First Minister Donald Dewar's death in office.^[1]
• 4 January – As strong winds and heavy rain continue to batter parts of Scotland, with more than thirty flood warnings issued by SEPA, the owner of historic Abergeldie Castle is forced to evacuate the sixteenth century tower house in Aberdeenshire after the River Dee has swept away land behind the properly, leaving it only a few feet from the water.^[2]
• 5 January – The new head of Police Scotland is formally sworn in during a ceremony at the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan Castle in Fife.^[3]
• 9 January – Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announces that every household, business or charity in the country directly affected by flood water will receive a grant of £1,500.^[4]
• 17 January – For the first time, the typical pay of a Scottish employee has risen above those in England, according to a new study.^[5]
• 19 January – The pro-Union Better Together organisation is fined £2,000 by Electoral Commission over referendum spending.^[6]

February

• 8 February – Natural gas from North Sea fields begins to flow from a new plant in Shetland operated by Total.^[7]

March

• • • 24 March Longannet power station, the last coal-fired power plant in Scotland, is closed.^[8]
  • Murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow.

April

• 7 April – It is announced that the last native person born on the island of St Kilda, Rachel Johnson, has died at the age of 93 at a care home in Clydebank.^[9]
• 9 April – Two people are drowned and one is reported missing after the fishing boat Louisa sinks off the coast of the Western Isles.^[10]
• 13 April – Lady Dorian is appointed as Lord Justice Clerk in Scotland, succeeding Lord Carloway.^[11] She is the first woman to hold the post.^[12]

May

• 5 May – Elections to the Scottish Parliament are held. The Scottish National Party win the election and a third term in government, but fall two seats short of securing an overall majority, whilst the Scottish Conservatives replace Scottish Labour as the main opposition party, with Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
• 17 May – John Beckett QC installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Beckett.^[13]
• 24 May – Alistair Clark QC installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Clark.^[14]
• 31 May – Andrew Stewart installed as a Senator of the College of Justice, with the judicial title Lord Ericht.^[15]

June

• 20 June – The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council rules that Murray Pringle, an accountant from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, is the legitimate heir to the baronetcy of Pringle of Stichill, in the Scottish Borders, which was dormant after the death of the 10th Baronet in 2013.^[16]

August

• 8 August – The Transocean Winner oil rig runs aground, at Dalmore beach, in Carloway, on the west side of Lewis. The oil rig was being towed from Norway to Malta, when it became detached from the tugboat.^[17]

September

• September – City Campus, City of Glasgow College, designed by Reiach and Hall Architects and Michael Laird Architects, opens.^[18]
• 25 September – The MV Hebrides ferry runs aground at Lochmaddy on North Uist and crashes into the harbour wall.^[19]
• 27 September – The first shale gas to be imported to the UK arrives at Ineos's Grangemouth Refinery from the United States;^[20] this month also Ineos opens a new headquarters building at Grangemouth.^[21]

November

• 18–26 November – The 2016 European Curling Championships take place in Renfrewshire.^[22]

December

• 15 December – Frank Mulholland appointed as a Senator of the College of Justice as Lord Mulholland, replacing Lord Stewart.

Deaths

• 2 February – Martin Macdonald, Gaelic broadcaster and journalist (born 1937)^[23]
• 15 February – Walter McGowan, world champion boxer (born 1942)^[24]
• 27 February – Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, peer, soldier and politician (born 1957)
• 28 February – John Cameron, Lord Coulsfield, judge at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial (born 1934)^[25]
• 14 March – Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, composer (born 1934 in England)
• 31 March – Ronnie Corbett, actor and comedian (born 1930)
• 6 May – Chris Mitchell, footballer (born 1988)^[26]
• 11 May – Joe Temperley, saxophonist (born 1929)
• 3 July – Jimmy Frizzell, footballer and football manager (born 1937)
• 26 July – Maggie Macdonald, singer in Scottish Gaelic (born 1952)
• 19 August – Danus Skene, politician and Chief of Clan Skene (born 1944)
• 30 September – Mike Towell, boxer (born 1991)^[27]
• 7 October – Alistair Urquhart, soldier, businessman and author (born 1919)
• 19 October – Valerie Hunter Gordon, inventor of the disposable nappy
• 24 October – Benjamin Creme, artist, author and esotericist (born 1922)^[28]

The arts

• May–September – £35m redevelopment of part of the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow opens^[29] containing art, cultural and health and fitness activities promoted in a partnership of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, the University of Glasgow^[30] and the National Library of Scotland^[31] (to incorporate the latter's Moving Image Archive).

See also

• 2016 in England
• 2016 in Northern Ireland
• 2016 in Wales

Notes and References

1. News: Declassified records reveal Scottish executive's early days . BBC News . BBC . 1 January 2016 . 4 January 2016.
2. News: Drone shows historic castle teetering over flood water . BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2016 . 4 January 2016.
3. News: Police Scotland: New chief constable Phil Gormley sworn in . BBC News . BBC. 5 January 2016. 5 January 2016.
4. News: £1,500 grants for homes and businesses hit by floods. BBC News . BBC. 9 January 2016. 9 January 2016.
5. News: Typical Scottish worker's pay tops England for first time . BBC News . BBC . 17 January 2016 . 17 January 2016.
6. News: Better Together fined by Electoral Commission over referendum spending . BBC News . BBC . 19 January 2016 . 19 January 2016.
7. Web site: Total turns on gas from west of Shetland Laggan and Tormore fields. BBC News. BBC. 8 February 2016. 8 February 2016.
8. News: Longannet power station closes ending coal power use in Scotland. The Guardian. London. 24 March 2016. 24 March 2016.
9. News: Last surviving St Kilda native, Rachel Johnson, dies at 93. The Scotsman. 7 April 2016. 8 April 2016.
10. News: Two dead and one missing after fishing boat sinks. BBC News . BBC . 9 April 2016 . 9 April 2016.
11. Web site: Appointment of Lord Justice Clerk. 13 April 2016. Scottish Courts and Tribunals. 5 June 2016.
12. Web site: Scotland appoints first female Lord Justice Clerk. 13 April 2016. The Herald. Glasgow. Helen. McArdle. 5 June 2016.
13. Web site: Lord Beckett joins Scottish bench. 17 May 2016. Scottish Legal News. 5 June 2016. 18 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160518094341/http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/05/17/lord-beckett-joins-scottish-bench/. dead.
14. Web site: Alistair Clark QC made Senator of the College of Justice. 24 May 2016. Scottish Legal News. 5 June 2016. 25 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160525121442/http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/05/24/alistair-clark-qc-made-senator-of-the-college-of-justice/. dead.
15. Web site: Lord Ericht joins the bench. 31 May 2016. Scottish Legal News. 5 June 2016. 1 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160601121430/http://www.scottishlegal.com/2016/05/31/lord-ericht-joins-the-bench/. dead.
16. News: Pringle of Stichill baronetcy battle won by accountant. BBC News. BBC. 20 June 2016. 20 June 2016.
17. News: Drilling rig blown ashore in storms off Western Isles. 11 August 2016. BBC News. 8 August 2016.
18. Web site: City of Glasgow opens new campus in centre of city. 5 September 2016. 24 July 2017. BBC News.
19. News: CalMac ferry runs aground in Lochmaddy harbour crash. 25 September 2016. BBC News. 25 September 2016.
20. News: First US shale gas arrives at Ineos plant in Scotland. 27 September 2016. BBC News. 27 September 2016.
21. Web site: INEOS completes construction of its new, state of the art Grangemouth Headquarters. INEOS. Grangemouth. 2016-09-06. 2017-03-31.
22. Web site: Olympedia – Olympians Who Won a Medal at the European Curling Championships . www.olympedia.org . 4 February 2024.
23. News: Ross. David. Maclennan. Hugh Dan. Martin Macdonald. 9 February 2016. 16 February 2016. The Herald.
24. News: Hannan. Martin. Obituary: Walter McGowan, world champion boxer. 24 February 2016. The Scotsman. 19 February 2016.
25. Web site: Lockerbie bombing judge Lord Coulsfield dies. BBC News.
26. Web site: Obituary: Chris Mitchell, footballer . www.scotsman.com . 26 April 2020 . en.
27. Web site: Obituary - Mike Towell, boxer . HeraldScotland . 23 December 2021 . en.
28. Web site: Author Benjamin Creme Has Passed Away. 28 October 2016.
29. News: Glasgow's historic Kelvin Hall to open after £35m revamp. BBC News. 2016-05-16.
30. Web site: Kelvin Hall transformation on target. Gla.ac.uk.
31. Web site: Kelvin Hall. Kelvinhall.org.uk. 2021-11-02.