Michael Moore (Scottish politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Moore
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| Secretary of State for Scotland | |
| In office 29 May 2010 – 7 October 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | Danny Alexander |
| Succeeded by | Alistair Carmichael |
| Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats | |
| Acting 2 July 2008 – 26 August 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Nicol Stephen |
| Succeeded by | Tavish Scott |
| Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland and Scotland Spokesman | |
| In office 5 March 2008 – 11 May 2010 |
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| Leader | Nick Clegg |
| Preceded by | Alistair Carmichael |
| Succeeded by | Alistair Carmichael |
| Liberal Democrat International Development Spokesman | |
| In office 20 December 2007 – 5 March 2008 |
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| Leader | Nick Clegg |
| Preceded by | Lynne Featherstone |
| Succeeded by | Lembit Öpik |
| Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs Spokesman | |
| In office 2 March 2006 – 21 December 2007 |
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| Leader | Menzies Campbell Vince Cable (Acting) |
| Preceded by | Menzies Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Ed Davey |
| Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesman | |
| In office 16 May 2005 – 2 March 2006 |
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| Leader | Charles Kennedy Menzies Campbell |
| Preceded by | Paul Keetch |
| Succeeded by | Nick Harvey |
| Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats | |
| In office 2 October 2002 – 20 September 2010 |
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| Leader | Jim Wallace Nicol Stephen Tavish Scott |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Jo Swinson |
| Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (1997–2005) |
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| In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015 |
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| Preceded by | David Steel |
| Succeeded by | Calum Kerr |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Michael Kevin Moore
3 June 1965 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Spouse | Alison Moore |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Michael Kevin Moore (born 3 June 1965) is a British former politician from the Liberal Democrats party. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 18 years.
Born in Northern Ireland, Michael Moore grew up mostly in Scotland. He became a qualified accountant and worked for a well-known Liberal Democrat politician, David Steel. In the 1997 general election, Moore took over from Steel as the Liberal Democrat MP for the Scottish Borders. He joined the Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team in 2005, holding important roles like Defence, Foreign Affairs, and International Development.
After the 2010 general election, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties formed a coalition government. Michael Moore was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland on 29 May 2010. This is a top government job responsible for Scottish affairs. While in this role, he helped put the Scotland Act 2012 into action. This law gave more powers to Scotland's government. He left this role in October 2013.
Moore was an MP for two different areas: Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (from 1997 to 2005) and Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (from 2005 to 2015). He lost his seat in the 2015 general election.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Michael Moore was born in Dundonald, Northern Ireland, on 3 June 1965. His father, William Haisley Moore, was a religious leader in the British Army. In 1970, his family moved to Wishaw, Scotland, and then to the Scottish Borders in 1981.
He went to Strathallan School and Jedburgh Grammar School. Later, he studied politics and modern history at the University of Edinburgh. After university, he worked as a researcher for MP Archy Kirkwood. He then joined an accounting firm in Edinburgh and became a qualified accountant.
Career as a Member of Parliament
Michael Moore was first elected to the UK Parliament in the 1997 general election. He became the MP for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, taking over from David Steel. He won with a majority of 1,489 votes. In 2001, he won again, increasing his lead to 5,157 votes.
In 2005, after changes to the voting areas, Moore ran for the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk seat. He won with a majority of 5,901 votes. He kept this seat in 2010, though his majority was slightly smaller at 5,675 votes.
Working for the Liberal Democrats
After becoming an MP, Michael Moore served as the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for the Scottish economy. He was also part of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee. He later became the party's Transport Spokesman.
In 2001, he became the Deputy Foreign Affairs Spokesman. He then took on the role of Defence spokesman. Under different party leaders, he also handled Foreign Affairs and International Development. In 2002, he was chosen as the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, a role he held again in 2007. He stepped down from this position in 2010 because his workload increased after he became the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Secretary of State for Scotland
After the 2010 general election, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties formed a coalition government. Michael Moore was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland on 29 May 2010. This happened after another Scottish MP, Danny Alexander, moved to a different important role.
Early Public Appearances
Soon after becoming Scottish Secretary, Michael Moore appeared on the BBC's Question Time TV show. He talked about how everyone would need to help the country's economy. He also mentioned that another government minister, Michael Gove, had made a mistake but had apologized for it. In September 2010, a newspaper called the Daily Telegraph listed Michael Moore as the 13th most influential Liberal Democrat. They described him as someone who could handle his job well and avoid problems.
Government Spending Decisions
In 2010, the British government reviewed its spending plans. Michael Moore supported keeping funding for two aircraft carriers. These ships would be built in Scotland, creating many jobs. He also backed keeping RAF air bases in Kinloss and Lossiemouth. These bases were important for about 6,000 jobs in the Moray area. Moore said he would try his best to keep the bases open, but he could not make promises.
On 9 October 2010, Moore was appointed to a special government committee. This committee helped decide the budgets for different government departments. On 19 October 2010, it was announced that government orders for certain surveillance aircraft would be cancelled. This meant the RAF Kinloss base would close. The future of RAF Lossiemouth also became uncertain.
The next day, the government announced its spending review. Scotland's budget was cut by 4.6%, or £1.3 billion. Moore said Scotland had received a "fair deal in tough times." He explained that spending on public services in Scotland would be cut less than in other parts of the UK. He also said that if the government did not deal with the national debt, Scots would pay more for longer.
University Fees
Michael Moore admitted that university tuition fees were a "very difficult issue" for his party. He said his party wished they could have removed fees, but they were part of a coalition government dealing with a large national debt. Moore believed that without changes, universities would not have enough money for good education. He also pointed out that university funding is managed by the Scottish parliament. This meant Scottish students studying in Scotland would not be affected by the changes and would continue to pay no fees.
Scotland Act 2012
On 30 November 2010, Moore announced plans to give the Scottish Parliament new powers over taxes and borrowing. These plans were part of the Scotland Bill. This bill would allow the Scottish Parliament to borrow money for the first time. It would also let them set a "Scottish Income Tax" rate from 2015. If these plans went through, the Scottish Parliament would raise about 35% of its own money. The rest would come from the UK government.
The bill also planned to transfer control over things like the drink-drive limit and national speed limits in Scotland to the Scottish Parliament. Moore said this bill was the result of hard work by many groups and governments. He believed that future Scottish governments would be more responsible for their financial decisions. He added that the bill would move Scotland's self-governance forward in a strong and positive way.
Backbench MP
In October 2013, Michael Moore was replaced as Scottish Secretary by Alistair Carmichael. A newspaper, The Guardian, suggested that the government wanted someone more forceful to argue against Scottish independence in the 2014 referendum. After this, Moore became a backbench MP, meaning he was no longer a government minister.
New Law for International Aid
In 2014, Michael Moore worked on a special bill called a Private Member's Bill. He wanted to make sure the UK government spent at least 0.7% of its national income on international aid. This bill successfully passed through Parliament and became law on 26 March 2015. It is called the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Act 2015.
2015 Election
In the 2015 general election, Michael Moore ran for the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk seat for the fifth time. However, he lost the election. He received 18.7% of the votes, much less than the 45.4% he got in 2010.
After Politics
Michael Moore now works as the Chief Executive of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA). Before this, from 2015 to 2019, he was a Senior Adviser at PwC, a large accounting firm. Since 2016, he has also been the chairman of the Borders Book Festival.
He lives in Darnick in the Scottish Borders with his wife and two children.
