Richard Simpson (politician)
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Dr Richard Simpson (born 1942, Edinburgh) is a Scottish Labour politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Ochil constituency from 1999 to 2003, currently a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid-Scotland and Fife region as of the 2007 election
A GP and psychiatrist prior to his election, he was made the deputy Justice minister when Jack McConnell became First Minister in 2001. In 2002 he was alleged to have referred to striking firemen as "fascists - the kind of people who supported Mussolini". [1] and as a result of this he resigned in order to avoid compromising the imminent pay negotiations.
In the 2003 election he was defeated by George Reid of the Scottish National Party.
Between 2003 and 2007 he worked within Addiction medicine, first within Glasgow then as Consultant Psychiatrist in charge of the Drug Addiction Team of West Lothian.
Dr Simpson is the current Deputy Party Spokesperson on Health for the Labour Party and is the Co-Convener of the Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament on Drug and Alcohol Misuse and on Mental Health. He is also a Member of the Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament on Epilepsy, Golf, Palestine, Tobacco Control and Visual Impairment.
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| Scottish Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Constituency Created |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Ochil 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by George Reid |
| Preceded by n/a |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife 2007– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Iain Gray |
Deputy Minister for Justice 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Hugh Henry |
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