David Martin (Scottish politician)

David Martin
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for Scotland
Assumed office
10 June 1999
Preceded by Position established
Member of the European Parliament
for Lothians
In office
14 June 1984 – 10 June 1999
Preceded by Ian Dalziel
Succeeded by Position abolished
Personal details
Born (1954-08-26) 26 August 1954
Edinburgh
Nationality British
Political party Labour
Spouse(s) Margaret Martin (div)
Lorraine Davidson
Alma mater Heriot-Watt University
University of Leicester
Profession Economist

David Martin (born 26 August 1954 in Edinburgh) is a British Labour Party politician, and member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland. He is the UK's longest serving MEP and the second longest serving MEP in the whole European Parliament.[1]

Early life

He was educated in Edinburgh at Liberton High School.

Political career

Martin was first elected as a councillor in 1982.

European Parliament

Martin won the Lothians seat in the 1984 European Parliament elections. He retained his seat, and following a reform of the electoral system, was in 1999 elected to represent the whole of Scotland along with other members.

He was elected in 1987 as the youngest ever leader of the British Labour delegation of MEPs. He was Vice-President of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2004, the longest period anyone has served in that position. In 2002 he was the defeated Socialist candidate for President of the Parliament.

He was the European Parliament's rapporteur on the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties.

Trade Committee

Martin is currently the coordinator and spokesperson for the Socialists and Democrats Group on the International Trade (INTA) committee. As well as this role, he is rapporteur for the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and standing rapporteur for the ASEAN-5 countries.

He was the rapporteur for the ACTA treaty, stepping in after the original rapporteur, Kader Arif, resigned in protest.[2] In April 2012, Martin recommended that the European Parliament reject ACTA, on the grounds that civil liberties were not adequately protected.[3][4] Mr Martin's recommendation was adopted by the Parliament in the biggest ever defeat of a legislative proposal from the European Commission - 478 MEPs voted against ACTA, 39 in favour, and 165 abstained.[5]

In 2013 he was voted MEP of the year in the international trade category by the Parliament Magazine.[6]

He was the rapporteur for the UN Arms Trade Treaty, encouraging member states to ratify the treaty and pushing for the EU to lead strict global implementation of new rules for greater transparency and responsibility in the arms industry.[7]

Animal Welfare

Martin is Honorary Vice-President of the Animal Welfare Intergroup, a cross-party group of MEPs striving for animal rights.[8]

He was instrumental in the 2009 Seal Regulation, which bans the sale of seal products in the European Union. It has been estimated by the Humane Society International that in Canada around 250,000 seals have been saved per year as a result of this ruling.[9] This was reinforced by a landmark WTO ruling following a challenge to the EU legislation by the Norwegian and Canadian governments.[10]

Scottish politics

Following the Brexit vote of 23 June 2016, he was invited to join the First Minister's Standing Council on Europe, a cross-party body which offers advice to the Scottish government on how best to protect Scotland's relationship with the European Union.[11] In contrast to England and Wales, Scotland voted firmly in favour of EU membership by 62% to 38%.[12]

In a video he explained, "she [First Minister Nicola Sturgeon] assured me this would be an all-party and no-party, a pro-independence and an anti-independence grouping, that there would be no bias one way or the other. Our job is simply to look at what would be best for Scotland in the new situation that we face".[13]

Personal life

Married to Lorraine Davidson with two children. He has two children from a previous marriage to his first wife Margaret.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Call for 'groundwork' on SNP-Labour deal". BBC News. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  2. ↑ Arthur, Charles (2012-02-01). "Acta goes too far, says MEP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  3. ↑ "EU Parliament's draftsman urges ACTA rejection". Euractiv.com. Archived from the original on 13 April 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "EU Rapporteur's Draft Recommendation".
  5. ↑ "European Parliament rejects ACTA | News | European Parliament". News | European Parliament. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  6. ↑ David Martin (2013-06-04), Parliament Magazine 2013 MEP Awards_Trade, retrieved 2016-08-18
  7. ↑ "EU must lead global monitoring of arms trade, says S&D member David Martin | Socialists & Democrats". www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Animal Welfare Intergroup - The Bureau".
  9. ↑ "250,000 Seals' Lives Saved : Humane Society International". www.hsi.org. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  10. ↑ "Historic WTO Ruling Upholds EU Ban on Seal Product Trade : Humane Society International". www.hsi.org. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  11. ↑ "First meeting of Standing Council on Europe - First Minister of Scotland". 2016-07-15. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  12. ↑ "EU referendum: Scotland backs Remain as UK votes Leave - BBC News". Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  13. ↑ "David Martin MEP - Videos | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  14. ↑ Peterkin, Tom (14 May 2004). "Labour's top MEPs in expenses wrangle at launch of Euro campaign" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
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