Gordon Raymond Banks (born 14 June 1955) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2005 to 2015.
Gordon Banks | |
|---|---|
 Banks in 2008 | |
| Shadow Minister for Scotland | |
| In office 18 March 2013 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Willie Bain |
| Succeeded by | Paul Sweeney (2017) |
| Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills | |
| In office 8 October 2010 – 23 May 2011 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Succeeded by | Chuka Umunna |
| Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire | |
| In office 5 May 2005 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 June 1955 Acomb, Northumberland, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Alma mater | University of Stirling |
Early life
editBanks was born in Acomb, Northumberland and educated at the Lornshill Academy in Alloa and then the Glasgow College of Building. He later obtained an honours degree in History and Politics from the University of Stirling.[citation needed]
He has worked in the construction industry for 31 years, and formed his own building supplies business in 1986.[citation needed]
Member of Parliament
editBanks was elected in the new constituency of Ochil and South Perthshire at the 2005 general election, defeating both Annabelle Ewing and Liz Smith.[1]
Shortly after his election, Banks became a member of the Regulatory Reform Committee, the Unopposed Bills (Panel) Committee, the Scottish Affairs Committee and the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee. In May 2006, he became a PPS to James Purnell, and subsequently left the Scottish and Northern Ireland committees.[citation needed]
In October 2010, he was appointed as one of the Shadow Ministers of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. He resigned from this role in April 2011 to concentrate on his constituency duties, and was succeeded by Chuka Ummuma.[2] He returned to the opposition front bench in 2013 as Shadow Minister for Scotland.
During his period as an MP he also successfully ran by-election campaigns for Westminster (1) and Holyrood(2). He also ran the successful 2012 Council elections for the City of Glasgow.
Later he also played a leading role in running Scottish Labour's campaign in the 2014 independence referendum.
In many of these campaigns he worked alongside James Kelly MSP.
He was defeated by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh of the Scottish National Party at the 2015 general election.[3]
Personal life
editBanks is married with two children. He is a member of the Coeliac Society.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "BBC NEWS | Election 2005 | Results | Ochil and South Perthshire". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ "MP appointed Labour leader's PPS". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ Hutchinson, Hamish (9 May 2015). "Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh becomes Ochil and South Perthshire MP". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.