Douglas Chalmers (politician)

Douglas Chalmers (born 1957 or 1958) is a Scottish academic and former communist activist.

Born in Dundee to parents who were members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB),^[1] Chalmers joined the Young Communist League and became its National Organiser in 1981, then replaced Nina Temple as General Secretary in 1983.^[2] As Secretary, he promoted a Eurocommunist line, which created conflict with a more feminist trend championed by the new National Organiser, Nina Brown.^[3] An incident where he called police to intervene at a fractious YCL meeting in Hackney proved controversial within the wider CPGB.^[4]

In 1985, Chalmers moved to become the CPGB's Scottish District Organiser.^[5] He stood for in Glasgow Govan at the 1987 general election, taking only 237 votes, then again at the 1988 Glasgow Govan by-election, where he increased his vote share to 0.9%.

He became the CPGB's final Scottish Secretary in 1989.^[6] In this role, he championed a Scottish Parliament and distanced the party from the collapsing regimes in Eastern Europe, while supporting perestroika.^[1][7] The party dissolved in 1991, and Chalmers became Scottish Convenor of its successor, Democratic Left. He was critical of its decision in 1993 to become a pressure group, but remained convenor until it was dissolved in 1998.^[8]

Chalmers next completed a PhD in Economics at Glasgow Caledonian University, then became a lecturer at the university, specialising in the links between the Scottish Gaelic language and economic development. He has also served on the , is president of the Scottish University and College Union, and won an award from the Higher Education Academy for his use of virtual learning environments.^[9]

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