Anna McCurley

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Anna McCurley
Member of Parliament
for Renfrew West and Inverclyde
In office
9 June 1983 – 18 May 1987
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byTommy Graham
Personal details
Born
Anna Anderson Gemmell

(1943-01-18) 18 January 1943 (age 79)
Political partyConservative
Later Scottish Liberal Democrats

Anna Anderson McCurley (née Gemmell; born 18 January 1943) is a Scottish politician.

Career[]

McCurley, a teacher by vocation, served as a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council 1978–82. McCurley contested West Stirlingshire in 1979 and Glasgow Central in a 1980 by-election. After the death of Tam Galbraith, the long-serving Conservative MP for Glasgow Hillhead, The Glasgow Herald reported that McCurley's name was being spoken about as a possible Conservative candidate to contest the by-election to elect his successor.[1] However, the Conservatives ultimately ran Gerry Malone, who lost to Roy Jenkins of the Social Democratic Party.[2]

She was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the newly created seat of Renfrew West and Inverclyde at the landslide of 1983 after a close three-way contest. She had a majority of 1,322 votes over the SDP's Dickson Mabon who finished second, with Labour's candidate finishing only 208 votes behind Mabon.[3] Mabon had been Labour MP for the Greenock and Port Glasgow since 1974 (and prior to that its predecessor seat Greenock from 1955), until joining the SDP in 1981, but the Liberal Party had pushed for one of their members to contest that seat for the Alliance.[3][4]

She lost the seat to Labour candidate Tommy Graham in 1987. During her time in Parliament, she was described by The Scotsman newspaper as outspoken and formidable, and praised by her successor for her political independence and interest in her constituents.[5] She contested the Chairmanship of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association, the party's voluntary wing, in 1989 losing to Sir Michael Hirst, the former MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, with whom she publicly opposed the parliamentary candidature of following a long rivalry.[6]

In 1997, she attempted to become the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Eastwood constituency, but failed to make it to the shortlist stage, with Paul Cullen eventually taking the candidature. She explained her defeat by suggesting her "views are more traditional Conservative than modern Conservative".[7]

McCurley joined the Scottish Liberal Democrats in 1998 and stood as a candidate in the 1999 elections to the Scottish Parliament for Eastwood.

References[]

  1. ^ Clark, William (4 January 1982). "SDP send for Roy Jenkins after death of Sir Thomas". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  2. ^ The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. 1983. p. 284. ISBN 0 7230 0255 X.
  3. ^ a b The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983. London: Times Books Ltd. 1983. p. 190. ISBN 0 7230 0255 X.
  4. ^ Clark, William (4 January 1982). "SDP send for Roy Jenkins after death of Sir Thomas". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "The Tory war of the thistles". The Independent. 3 April 1997. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  7. ^ "McCurley rejected by Eastwood". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 5 September 2019.

Other sources[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
New constituency Member of Parliament for Renfrew West and Inverclyde
1983–1987 		Succeeded by


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