Dennis Canavan

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Dennis Canavan
William Baxter
Succeeded byEric Joyce
Personal details
Born
Dennis Andrew Canavan

(1942-08-08) 8 August 1942 (age 81)
Labour (1974–1999)
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh

Dennis Andrew Canavan (born 8 August 1942) is a Scottish

Independent. He then served as an Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Falkirk West
from 1999 to 2007.

In 2014, he was the chair of the Advisory Board of Yes Scotland, the campaign for independence in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Early life

Born in

Holy Rood High School Edinburgh
at the time of his first election to Parliament. Canavan was also head of the maths department at St Modans High in Stirling.

Career

British Parliament

He was leader of the

tuition fees
.

A keen sports enthusiast, he was founder and Convener of the Scottish Sports Group at Westminster and the Cross-Party Sports Group in the Scottish Parliament. He has completed a marathon in less than three hours and the Ben Nevis Race in just over two hours. He won a gold medal, playing for Scotland in the British Universities Football Championships in 1967. In his book The Final Whistle?, Harry Reid claims that Canavan took part in the 1977 Wembley pitch invasion after Scotland beat England and ripped up a patch of the turf.[2]

He takes an active interest in

International Development. He is still a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Amnesty International and is interested in conflict resolution
.

He chaired the Northern Ireland Committee of the

British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body from 1992 to 2000. As a member of the European and External Relations Committee of the Scottish Parliament, he was author of a report on the potential for co-operation between Scotland and Ireland. He has frequently spoken out against sectarianism
and racism.

Scottish Parliament

Throughout his political life, Canavan played a leading part in the

Independent, and was consequently expelled from the party.[3] Although there were rumours he would join the Scottish National Party, he did not join another party. He won with almost 55 percent of the vote, the highest majority of any MSP in the 1999 election. He resigned his Westminster seat in 2000 to concentrate on representing his constituents in the Scottish Parliament. Canavan retained his Holyrood seat in 2003
with 55.7 percent of the vote, again with the biggest majority in Scotland.

In the Scottish Parliament, he was a member of the European and External Relations Committee and Convener of the All-Party Sports Group from 1999.[4][5] In 2003 he criticised the

Scottish football authorities when Falkirk Football Club was refused promotion to the Scottish Premier League
, despite having won the First Division Championship. He supported Falkirk's efforts to build a new stadium for community use and he still regularly attends the club's matches. He is also Honorary President of Milton Amateurs Football Club.

Canavan enjoys hill-walking and, in the Scottish Parliament, he championed the people's right of access to the countryside, successfully introducing amendments to the

Ramblers Scotland
.

He is a strong supporter of the idea of a

St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007
.

Retirement

When he announced his retirement before the

2007 Scottish Parliament elections,[6] he was the longest serving parliamentarian in the Scottish Parliament, having completed a combined 33 years at Westminster and Holyrood. After this announcement he received an ovation in the Chamber of the Scottish Parliament from other MSPs and was praised by the First Minister Jack McConnell as "an outstanding parliamentarian over a long, long period of time".[7]

In April 2010, Canavan declared his support for John McNally, the Scottish National Party candidate for Falkirk in the 2010 general election. Falkirk is the successor to Canavan's former Westminster constituency.[8]

He has

Strathclyde
.

In recognition of his public service,

Falkirk Council launched the Dennis Canavan Scholarship to encourage young people to go on to further or higher education and to use their talents to help others.[9]

Personal life

Canavan's marriage to Elnor Canavan ended in divorce. They had four children, all of whom predeceased him; he also has a son with his partner.[10][11]

Autobiography

His autobiography, Let the People Decide, was published by

ISBN 978-1-84158839-1)[12]

References

  1. ^ Dennis Canavan, Let the people decide: the autobiography of Dennis Canavan (2009), p. 32
  2. ISBN 1-84158-362-6
  3. ^ Seenan, Gerard (25 March 1999). "Labour loses second MP as Canavan opts to run in Scotland". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Scots hide Irish heritage". BBC News. 11 April 2001. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Catholic church backing". BBC News. 6 December 2000. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  6. ^ Canavan will not fight election, bbc.co.uk, 23 January 2007
  7. ^ Canavan receives Holyrood ovation, bbc.co.uk, 25 January 2007
  8. ^ Hamish Macdonell (25 April 2010). "Blow for Labour as Canavan backs SNP candidate". Caledonian Mercury. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Canavan scholarship is launched". BBC News. BBC. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  10. ^ "Former MP's 'indescribable depression' after losing four children". BBC News. 15 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Politician Dennis Canavan: 'I dream most nights and I very rarely have a happy dream'". The Scotsman. 12 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Dennis Canavan's memoir tells of heartache and Holyrood". The Herald. 21 September 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2017.

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Baxter
 Member of Parliament for West Stirlingshire
1974–1983 		Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of Parliament for Falkirk West
1983–2000 		Succeeded by
Scottish Parliament
New constituency Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West
1999–2007 		Succeeded by
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