The Scottish Executive Committee is the governing body of the Scottish Labour Party, responsible for administrative matters and strategic policy direction. The SEC officially meets every second month, with much of day to day party business and operations undertaken in groups and commissions.
Local Government Sub-Committee
Constitution Working Group
Fundraising Working Group
Campaigns Working Group
The SEC has three different sections – CLPs (members), Elected Members and Trade Unions & Affiliates.
Office Bearers
Jamie Glackin – Chair of the Scottish Labour Party
Jacqueline Martin– Vice Chair
Cathy Peattie – Treasurer
Elected Members
Kezia Dugdale – Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Alex Rowley – Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Ian Murray – Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Catherine Stihler – European Parliamentary Labour Group
Rhondda Geekie – COSLA Labour Group Leader & Leader of Renfrewshire Council
Stephen McCabe – Leader of Inverclyde Council
Mary Fee – Scottish Parliament Group Representative
Duncan McNeil – Scottish Parliament Group Representative
Michael McCann – UK Parliament Group Representative
CLP Section (Membership)
Helen Doyle – West of Scotland/Mid Scotland & Fife
Jamie Glackin – West of Scotland/Mid Scotland & Fife
Willie Young – NE Scotland/Highlands & Islands
Linda Stewart – NE Scotland/Highlands & Islands
Cathie Craigie – Central Scotland/Glasgow
Scott Nicholson – Central Scotland/Glasgow
Jalal Chaudry – Lothians/South of Scotland
Hannah Lister – Lothians/South of Scotland
Trade Union Section
Jackson Cullinane – Unite
Cathy Peattie – CWU
Elizabeth-Anne Handibode – Unison
Richard Leonard – GMB
Dave Watson – Unison
Jacqueline Martin – USDAW
Kevin Lindsay – ASLEF
Harry Frew UCATT
Vicky Grandon Unite
Cathy Murphy GMB
Co-operative Party & Socialist Societies
Amy Chung – Socialist Societies
Ian Miller – Co-op Party
Scottish Young Labour
Joe Fagan
Erin Mulhatton
2014 Jamie Glackin
2013 Jackson Cullinane
2011–12 Victoria Jamieson
2010 Philomena Muggins
2009 Claudia Beamish
2008 Dave Watson
2007 Stuart Clark
2006 Karie Murphy
2005 Sandra Macdonald
2004 Pat Devine
2003 Carol Wright
2002 Carol Wright
Vice Chairs of the Scottish Labour Party
2013 Jamie Glackin
2011–12 Jackson Cullinane
2010 Victoria Jamieson
2009 Philomena Muggins
2008 Claudia Beamish
2007 Dave Watson
2006 Stuart Clark
2005 Karie Murphy
2004 Sandra Macdonald
2003 Pat Devine
2002 Richard Leonard
The Scottish Policy Forum (SPF) is a body of the Scottish Labour Party responsible for developing a rolling policy programme on devolved matters.
The Scottish Annual Conference approves policies of the SPF programme every year with the Scottish Executive Committee (in conjunction with a committee from the Scottish Parliament Labour Group) deciding which items of the programme are to be incorporated in Labour's manifesto for the Scottish Parliament elections.
The SPF policy-making process is led by the 80 members elected from all sections of the party. The SPF establishes policy commissions to draw together policy discussion documents for consultation over three stages.
The SPF is subordinate and feeds reports to the National Policy Forum.
The General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party, subordinate to the General Secretary of the Labour Party, is the administrative head and the most senior permanent staff member of the Scottish Labour Party.
The General Secretary is responsible for running the party's organisation: legal affairs, staff management, campaigns, conferences, and liaising with the UK party.
The General Secretary also acts as the Registered Treasurer, responsible for the party's financial accounts.
1977–1988: Helen Liddell
1988–1992: Murray Elder
1992–1998: Jack McConnell
1998–1999: Alex Rowley
1999–2008: Lesley Quinn
2008-2012: Colin Smyth
2012-2013: Brian Roy (acting)
2013-2014: Ian Price
2014: Fiona Stanton (acting)
2014 - : Brian Roy
Left his General Secretary role in 1998 to work for 9 months at a lobbying firm Public Affairs Europe Ltd, which was a joint venture between Beattie Media and Scottish law firm Maclay Murray & Spens. In 1999, he entered Holyrood as Motherwell and Wishaw MSP. Became First Minister of Scotland in 2001. Elevated to House of Lords as Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale in 2010.
General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party (1 May 1998 – 31 May 1999). Rowley was sacked as general secretary after setting out proposals for giving it more freedom from London control. He went on to become a Fife councillor, Leader of the Council, and then MSP for Cowdenbeath. He is now Deputy Leader of the Party
Lesley Quinn, joined the Labour Party as a 16-year-old junior shorthand typist. Assistant General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party, became acting general secretary in June 1999 to co-ordinate the party's 1999 European election campaign. November 1999, formally appointed as General Secretary of Scottish Labour Party. Quinn stood down at the 2008 Scottish Labour conference in Aviemore in March.
Colin Smyth. Dumfries and Galloway councillor (Nith Ward)
Press OfficeMedia Monitoring Unit
Rebuttal Unit
Regional press teams
Research Unit (policy and constitutional issues)
administrative support
Scottish Parliamentary Labour Support Unit (formerly SPLP Resource Unit)
The Director of Communications for the Scottish Labour Party
1998 April/May: Paul McKinney
1998 July −1999 July: Lorraine Davidson
2000 February −2002: John Scott
2001–2005: Colin Edgar
2006–2007: Steven Lawther
2007: Brian Lironi
2007: Matthew Marr
2007: Gavin Yates
2007-8: Tony McElroy
2008: Rami Okasha
Paul McKinney was the Director of Communications for seven weeks (April 1998 to 21 May 1998), having been headhunted by Donald Dewar and Gordon Brown. He ran the Labour party's Scottish press campaign in the 1992 UK general election; four years as an aide/researcher to Gordon Brown, worked with Pat McFadden and David Miliband; head of STV new production Returned to STV. Left STV in 2004. Worked for Oxfam before joining Al Jazeera in 2006.
Lorraine Davidson became Director of Communications two weeks after Paul McKinney unexpectedly quit. Davidson was previously STV's Westminster correspondent until 1997 when she joined BBC's political unit. Her partner was then South Lanarkshire council leader Tom McCabe, who later became an MSP.
1998–1999: Ian Austin. 1999–2005: Chancellor Gordon Brown's press officer.
Secondments
Matthew Taylor (Labour politician), 1999 election strategist
Douglas Alexander, 1999 election coordinator
Labour's Scottish Strategy Group for the 1999 Scottish Parliament election:
Donald Dewar, Scottish Secretary
Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor
Brian Wilson, Scotland Office Minister of State
John Reid, Minister of State for Transport
Alex Rowley, party's General Secretary
Paul McKinney, party's Head of Communications
Other staff
Lesley Quinn, party's Assistant General Secretary
David Whitton, Special Adviser to Dewar for media
Pat McFadden, policy researcher to Dewar
John Rowan, Scottish Telephone Bank Organiser
Hilary Perrin (tours)
Bridget Sweeny (visits)
lan Austin (Press)
Ed Miliband (rebuttal)
John Rafferty, Campaign Co-ordinator and finance (Dewar's chief of staff)
AnnMarie Whyte, office manager (Admin staff)
Kevin Reid, campaigner/media monitoring officer (former parliamentary researcher for Dr John Reid)
Suzanne Hilliard, campaigner/media monitoring (assistant to John Reid and John Maxton)
Chris Winslow, campaigner (John Maxton's parliamentary researcher)
Willie Sullivan, Development Officer
John McTernan, election coordinator
Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor
Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland
Jack McConnell, First Minister of Scotland
2011
Leader: Iain Gray MSP
Spokesman: Simon Pia
Speechwriter: Michael Marra
Campaign co-ordinator: John Park MSP
Campaign strategist: Tom Greatrex MP
Press Officer: Kenny Young
General Secretary: Colin Smyth
Head of Communications: Rami Okasha
Head of Research: Sarah Metcalfe
Diary secretary: Adele Black
Assistant and Election agent: Pat Gordon
Expenditure:
2010 general election: £968,000
Brian Dempsey (businessman)
Willie Haughey
John Milligan
Donald Dewar (1997–1999):
Wendy Alexander
Murray Elder
David Whitton
Junior Ministers: McLeish, Wilson/Liddell
Donald Dewar (1999–2000):
John Rafferty, chief of staff (former election campaign coordinator)
Philip Chalmers, head of the Scottish Executive's strategic communications unit (previously, director of polling and marketing for the Scottish Labour Party)
David Whitton
Brian Fitzpatrick
John MacLaren
Professor Donald Maclennan
Neil Gillam
Chris Winslow (former parliamentary researcher for John Maxton MP)
Origins and evolution of the Scottish Labour Party
In August 1888, after contesting the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, Keir Hardie co-founded with Liberal MP Robert Cunninghame-Graham the Scottish Labour Party (1888) with the support of the Scottish Miners' Federation, local trade unions, the Dundee Radical Association, the Scottish Home Rule Association, Crofters Party MPs, and the Scottish Land Restoration League.
In December 1888, the Scottish Socialist Federation (SSF) was formed by members of the Social Democratic Federation.
In August 1891, the Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party (SUTCLP) was formed.
In July 1892 general election, the SUTCLP gained support from the SSF.
In January 1893, Keir Hardie and others formed the Independent Labour Party (ILP).
In March 1893, the SUTCLP dissolved, advising members to join the ILP.
In 1893, the Scottish Socialist Federation affiliated with the ILP.
In 1894, the Scottish Labour Party of 1888 had by then made little impact and dissolved itself into the ILP.
In March 1897, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) was formed in Glasgow, as a result of a political dispute with the TUC regarding political representation for the Labour movement.
In 1899, the STUC with the ILP's Scottish branch formed the parliamentary campaign group Scottish Workers' Representation Committee (SWRC)
In 1900, the ILP played a central role in the formation of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) which was created by ILP Chairman Hardie's motion to create a single Labour parliamentary body that was passed at a special conference organised by the TUC. ILP nominee Ramsay MacDonald was elected as Secretary of the LRC.
In 1906, the LRC is renamed the Labour Party, with the ILP becoming a Labour party affiliate and providing much of its activist base.
In 1909, the SWRC was dissolved and merged with the Labour Party.
In 1915, a subordinate Scottish Advisory Council (SAC) was formed by the Labour Party.
In 1918, Scotland was formalised a "region" in the Labour party constitution and the SAC was renamed as the Scottish Council of the Labour Party
In 1994, the Scottish Council of the Labour Party was renamed the Scottish Labour Party.
In 2011, the Scottish Labour Party carried out a review of its organisation and elected its first ever overall leader (Johann Lamont).
UK Labour Party Head Office, London
UK Labour Leader's Office
UK National Executive Committee
Scottish Labour Party Head Office, Glasgow
Scottish Labour Leader's Office
Scottish Executive Committee
Affiliated STUC trade unions, socialist societies and the Co-operative Party
Scottish Policy Forum
Policy commissions & local policy forums
Scottish Labour Conference
Scottish Labour Press Office
Labour Support Unit, Scottish Parliament
Constituency Labour Parties (CLP)
Branch Labour Parties (BLP)
Hassan, Gerry (2004) (ed.) The Scottish Labour Party. Edinburgh University Press.
