Jackson Carlaw

Jackson Carlaw MSP
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 November 2011
Leader	Ruth Davidson
Preceded by	Murdo Fraser
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Eastwood
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2016
Preceded by	Ken Macintosh
Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Scotland
In office 3 May 2007 – 5 May 2016
Personal details
Born	(1959-04-12) 12 April 1959 Newton Mearns, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Conservative Party
Website	[https://www.jacksoncarlaw.org.uk/]

David Jackson Carlaw (born 12 April 1959) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician serving as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since 2011 and Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Eastwood since 2016. He serves as the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs.

Early life and education

Carlaw was brought up in Newton Mearns and lived in Crookfur and Giffnock. He was educated at Glasgow Academy. He is married and has two sons.

Carlaw worked for 25 years as a car salesman. He was joint head of FirstFord car dealership in the west of Scotland until it was placed into receivership in November 2002.^[1] He was also a director of Wylies (Automotive Services) until it went into administration in February 2003.^[2]

Political career

Carlaw joined the East Renfrewshire Conservatives in 1978. He was the Conservative candidate in the 1982 Queen's Park by-election, and in the 1983 general election in Pollok. He was Chairman of the Scottish Young Conservatives from 1984 to 1986, Chairman of Eastwood Conservatives from 1988 to 1992, and was Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservatives from 1992 to 1998. He was reappointed Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Conservatives in 2005.^[3]

He was unsuccessful as a candidate for Eastwood in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. He was however elected on the party list under Scotland's additional member system in 2007 and 2011 representing the West of Scotland region. In 2016 he became the MSP for Eastwood after defeating the incumbent Ken Macintosh. He sits on the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament.^[4]

In 2011, Carlaw stood as a candidate in the leadership election brought on by Annabel Goldie's resignation. During the campaign, he was hospitalised with appendicitis.^[5] Carlaw finished third behind Ruth Davidson and Murdo Fraser.^[6] Jackson is the Deputy Leader for Scottish Conservatives^[7] having been appointed by Ruth Davison in 2011, and had been Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport for almost nine years. He was re-appointed as of 28th June 2017 as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Europe and External Affairs.

In September 2016, he was elected Convener of the Israeli Cross Party Group "Building Bridges with Israel", the establishment of which he pledged to help in his 2016 Scottish Parliament Campaign. In February 2017 Carlaw was appointed Deputy Convener of the Cross Party Group on End-of-life Choices.

Parliamentary Issues

Council Tax rates

Carlaw spoke out firmly against the SNP's changes to Council Tax in November 2016, defending his constituency with the belief that the proposed changes would effectively put over 50% of property in East Renfrewshire in the top two council tax bands. Commenting against the decision he maintained that "the rise would unfairly hit working families and the elderly" and "will hit Eastwood residents hard".

Planning (Scotland) Bill

Carlaw dismissed the initial stages of the June 2018 bill to reform local council planning by the SNP as a 'power grab'. The proposed legislation, which provisioned for the monitoring and training of local councillors in relation to planning, was argued as one which contains 'too much centralisation' and has been opposed by Carlaw in parliamentary debate, who claims the added power such a bill would give Holyrood would be "a dangerous trend to set".

Second Independence Referendum

Following attempts from the SNP to incite a second independence referendum for Scotland in March 2017, Carlaw spoke out against the attempt to 'impose a further unwanted referendum on an unwilling Scotland'. His speech, in parliament, pledged on behalf of the Scottish conservatives, that they would not allow for a second independence referendum until Brexit negotiations were complete and the Scottish public showed clear support for such a referendum. He further organised events within the constituency to reinforce this defence of the original referendum among his constituents.

Constituency Issues

Privatisation of Bonnyton House

Strongly opposing the sale and privatisation of the only public residential care home in East Renfrewshire in December 2016. Carlaw described it as a 'betrayal' to the families and residents within his constituency who relied on the care home by a council 'unwilling to properly look at any options other than privatisation.'

Parking Changes in East Renfrewshire

In a press release reacting to proposed changes to parking regulations by the Eastwood council in November 2016 , Carlaw spoke in favour of protecting local businesses from the potentially negative effects of the changes, suggesting several amendments to ensure the changes were 'substantially rethought to protect local businesses'.

References

External links

• Scottish Parliament webpage
• Scottish Conservatives biography