Jim Fairlie (politician, born 1940)

Jim Fairlie (born 1940) is a Scottish politician and financial analyst.

Jim Fairlie
Personal details
Born1940
Scotland
Political partySovereignty (since 2021)
Scottish National Party
(1955-1990)
Other political
affiliations
Free Scotland (2000s)

Background

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Fairlie was educated at the University of Dundee.[1] He joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1955, and was elected to its National Executive in the early 1970s. At the February and October 1974, and 1979 general elections, he stood unsuccessfully for the party in Dundee West.[2] At the time he was described as a student teacher and had previously been vice-chair of the Perth and East Perthshire SNP Association.[1] In 1979, he became Vice Chairman for Policy,[3] and from 1981 to 1984, he was Deputy Leader and Senior Vice Chairman of the party. He stood unsuccessfully in Dunfermline West at the 1983 general election and Perth and Kinross in 1987, and also wrote a column in the Scots Independent newspaper.[2]

In 1989 Fairlie was selected to stand again in Perth and Kinross,[4] but he resigned from the SNP in 1990, objecting to its "Independence in Europe" slogan and support for the European Community. In the 2000s, he joined the Free Scotland Party, acting as its Media Liaison Officer. He stood unsuccessfully for the party in Perth at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.[2]

His son, also named Jim, was elected as an MSP at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election; another son Andrew who died in 2019 was a chef.[5]

On 3 August 2021, The Herald announced that Fairlie had joined Restore Scotland (now Sovereignty).[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons October 1974. London: Times Books. 1974. pp. 112–113. ISBN 0 7230 0124 3.
  2. ^ a b c Candidates and Constituency Assessments: Perth Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Roger Levy, Third party decline in the UK: The SNP and SDP in comparative perspective, West European Politics, Volume 11, Issue 3 July 1988
  4. ^ Sinclair, Keith (2 October 1989). "SNP pits Fairlie against Fairburn". The Glasgow Herald. p. 3. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  5. ^ Richards, Xander (13 September 2020). "Jim Fairlie bids to become Perthshire South and Kinross-shire's next SNP MSP". The National. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  6. ^ McKenna, Kevin (3 August 2021). "Politics: Joanna Cherry's shaming of the SNP's leaders was reasonable and right". The Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ^ Sovereignty [@VoteSovereignty] (3 August 2021). ""Their highest-profile recruit is @JimFairlie, the highly respected former deputy leader of the SNP. Among its founders is @EwanGurr, who, as leader of The Trussell Trust in Scotland, organised its successful and life-saving foodbank operation."
    - @kmckenna63 @heraldscotland"
    (Tweet). Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via Twitter.
Party political offices
Preceded by Scottish National Party Vice Chairman (Policy)
1979–1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by Senior Vice Chairman (Depute Leader) of the Scottish National Party
1981–1984
Succeeded by