Tam Dalyell served in the House of Commons as an MP for 43 years. After winning the West Lothian seat in June 1962, Tam Dalyell served his constituents through eight separate prime ministers, retaining his seat (which became the Linlithgow constituency in 1983) with comfortable majorities.
During his time as an MP, Tam Dalyell became well-known for principled, defiant service in the House of Commons. In a career that included many major contributions to British politics, one of the most famous issues raised by Mr Dalyell was the ‘West Lothian’ question, an issue still debated and the subject of planned commission by the current government. In his original statement on the matter in November 1977, Tam Dalyell said:
For how long will English constituencies and English Honourable members tolerate ... at least 119 Honourable Members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercising an important, and probably often decisive, effect on English politics while they themselves have no say in the same matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Mr Dalyell’s reputation as a dissenter did, potentially, end hopes of serving in ministerial office, either in the shadow cabinet or Labour government. As he told The Guardian in a retirement interview, “I do not regret it, but I am sad that I never got that chance. I'm sure I would have been able to do it.” In his later years in the House of Commons, Tam Dalyell was ‘Father of the House’ between 2001 and 2005, when he retired from politics. In 2003, Mr Dalyell was also elected as the Rector of The University of Edinburgh in, a role he held until 2006.
The Linlithgow Book Festival is very proud to welcome Tam to discuss his autobiography The Importance of Being Awkward. He will talk about the major issues he was involved in at Westminster and in West Lothian. Tickets are available for £8, and this event is held at Linlithgow Academy. For further details please see http://www.linlithgowbookfestival.org/.
Quotation source - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/mar/29/uk.interviews
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