James Kelly (Scottish politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Kelly
|
|||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official portrait, 2016
|
|||||||||||||||||
| General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party | |||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 September 2021 – 3 April 2023 |
|||||||||||||||||
| Leader | Anas Sarwar | ||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Drew Smith (acting) | ||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | John Paul McHugh | ||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Scottish Labour portfolios | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Chief Whip of the Scottish Labour Party | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Shadow Minister for Parliamentary Business | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice | ||||||||||||||||
| Mar–May 2021 | Shadow Minister for Parliamentary Business | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||
| Born |
James Anthony Kelly
23 October 1963 |
||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Scottish Labour and Co-operative | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Alexa Kelly | ||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Computer analyst | ||||||||||||||||
| Website | https://www.jameskelly.scot/ | ||||||||||||||||
James Anthony Kelly (born 23 October 1963) is a Scottish politician. He has served as the General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. Before this, he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP). He represented the Glasgow region from 2016 to 2021. Earlier, he was the MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.
Mr. Kelly has held several important roles within the Scottish Labour Party. These include being a spokesperson for finance and justice. He also managed the party's business in the Scottish Parliament.
Contents
Early Life and Career
James Kelly grew up in the Halfway area of Cambuslang, Scotland. He went to Trinity High School, Rutherglen. After school, he studied at Glasgow College of Technology. He then worked in computing and finance. He became a chartered accountant and worked as a business analyst.
Before becoming an MSP, he helped with election campaigns. He was the election agent for Tommy McAvoy, a Member of Parliament. This was for the 1997, 2001, and 2005 general elections. He also led the local Labour Party group in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.
Political Career
James Kelly was first elected as an MSP for Rutherglen in 2007. When he joined the Scottish Parliament, he worked on the Finance Committee. He also served as a Labour Party Whip. From 2008 to 2011, he was part of the Justice Committee. He was also a spokesperson for community safety.
He was re-elected in 2011. After Johann Lamont became the leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Mr. Kelly was made Chief Whip. This means he helped make sure party members voted together. In 2013, he became the spokesperson for infrastructure and investment.
Later, when Jim Murphy became leader, Kelly continued to manage the party's parliamentary business. He also kept this role under Kezia Dugdale's leadership. In 2014, he helped organize the party's campaign for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.
In 2015, he was asked to leave the debating chamber. This happened when he tried to speak during a debate and refused to sit down.
In the 2016 election, James Kelly lost his local Rutherglen seat. However, he was still elected as an MSP for the Glasgow region. This is because he was on the party's regional list. His old seat was later won back by Labour in the 2017 UK general election. He helped manage the Labour campaign for that election.
When Kezia Dugdale stepped down as leader, some thought James Kelly might take her place. In 2017, Richard Leonard appointed him as the spokesperson for finance. He continued in this role after a party reshuffle in 2018.
In 2019, he was chosen again to stand for the Rutherglen constituency in the 2021 election. He also led a group in Parliament focused on co-operatives. He was also deputy leader of a group on sport.
Changing the Football Act
After being re-elected in 2016, James Kelly worked to change a law called the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act 2012. He believed this law did not stop bad behavior and was unfair to football fans. He said many experts and groups agreed with him.
On 25 January 2018, MSPs voted to support his plan to repeal the Act. This was a big moment as it was the first time the government lost a vote like this. On 15 March, the vote to officially repeal the Act passed. This meant the law was removed.
After the Act was repealed, some people debated its impact. A police representative suggested that removing the Act might have made some people feel they could behave badly.
Justice Spokesperson
In September 2019, James Kelly became the spokesperson for justice. He resigned from this role in September 2020. He then supported Anas Sarwar in the election for the new Scottish Labour leader.
Return to Frontbench
After Anas Sarwar became leader, James Kelly was again appointed to manage the party's business in Parliament. He also became the spokesperson for community safety and drugs policy. In the 2021 election, he did not win his constituency seat. He was also not elected from the regional list.
Personal Life
James Kelly lives in Cambuslang with his wife, Alexa. They have two daughters. He enjoys sports, especially football, tennis, and running.
