Richard Baker (Scottish politician) explained

Richard Baker
Honorific-Suffix:MP
Office:Member of Parliament
for Glenrothes and Mid Fife
Parliament:UK Parliament
Majority:2,954 (8.17%)
Term Start:4 July 2024
Predecessor:Peter Grant
Birth Date:29 May 1974
Birth Place:Edinburgh, Scotland
Party:Scottish Labour
Spouse:Claire Baker
Alma Mater:University of Aberdeen
Prior Term2:Member of Scottish Parliament May 2003 - January 2016
Office1:Member of Scottish Parliament
for North East Scotland
Termstart1:1 May 2003
Termend1:11 January 2016
Successor1:Lesley Brennan

Richard James Baker (born 29 May 1974) is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Glenrothes and Mid Fife since 2024.[1] Baker was previously a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region.

Early life

Baker was born in Edinburgh to an Episcopalian priest father and English teacher mother, and is godson to the then Episcopalian Bishop of Aberdeen, Bruce Cameron. He was educated at the independent St. Bees School in Cumbria and at Aberdeen University.[2] He was the elected president of the National Union of Students Scotland from 1998 till 2000 and before that the senior vice-president (an elected, full-time sabbatical officer post) at the University of Aberdeen students' representative council (now Aberdeen University Students' Association) in the academic year 1995/96. He is a former Scottish press officer of Help the Aged. Baker is a member of Unite the Union and the Co-operative Party.

Political career

He was first elected in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, when he was the youngest sitting MSP. He is a former member of Labour's Shadow Cabinet in the Scottish Parliament having served as the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance.

In the early part of 2014, he was selected as the Labour candidate for Aberdeen North in the 2015 UK general election, after current MP Frank Doran announced his retirement. However, he lost in the election to Scottish National Party candidate Kirsty Blackman.[3]

In June 2015, Baker announced he would stand in the 2015 Scottish Labour Party deputy leadership election.[4] When the result was announced, he had come third of the three candidates in a close contest with 30% of the vote.[5]

In September 2015, Baker announced he would be stepping down from the parliament at the 2016 election.[6] He instead stood down early in January 2016 to take up a job with Age Scotland. As a list MSP, his seat was taken up by the next person on the Labour list for the North East Scotland region, Lesley Brennan.[7]

In July 2024, he was elected Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Glenrothes and Mid Fife in the United Kingdom general election.[8]

General Election 2024 - Glenrothes and Mid Fife result

!Party !Vote share!Change since 2019
Labour 44.3%+16.9%
Scottish National Party 36.1%-13.4%
Reform UK 9.8%+6.8%
Conservative 5.5%-9.8%
Liberal Democrat 4.4%-
Others--

Family

Baker is married to Claire Brennan-Baker MSP and they have one daughter.

Claire became an MSP after the 2007 election, representing the Mid Scotland and Fife region.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Glenrothes and Mid Fife - General election results 2024 . 2024-07-14 . BBC News . en-GB.
  2. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=149450&sectioncode=26 Profile
  3. News: SNP candidate Kirsty Blackman wins Aberdeen North seat. Clark. Andrew. 8 May 2015. UK. The Press and Journal.
  4. News: Five candidates put forward names for Scottish Labour leader posts. 15 June 2015. UK. BBC News.
  5. News: Labour MSP Alex Rowley elected as the party's new deputy leader. 15 August 2015. Scotland. BBC Scotland.
  6. News: Richard Baker to stand down as MSP. 11 September 2015 . BBC News. 30 September 2015.
  7. Web site: Labour MSP Richard Baker quits Holyrood for charity role. BBC News. 11 January 2016.
  8. Web site: Clark . Alasdair . 2024-04-12 . Glenrothes Labour hopeful Richard Baker sets sights on SNP upset as he returns to politics . 2024-06-21 . The Courier . en-GB.