Tom Harris (British politician)
Tom Harris | |
|---|---|
Harris as a government minister | |
| Shadow Minister for the Environment | |
| In office 15 May 2012 – 12 June 2013 | |
| Leader | Ed Miliband |
| Preceded by | Fiona O'Donnell |
| Succeeded by | Barry Gardiner |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport | |
| In office 7 September 2006 – 4 October 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair Gordon Brown |
| Preceded by | Jim Fitzpatrick |
| Succeeded by | Paul Clark |
| Member of Parliament for Glasgow South Glasgow Cathcart (2001–2005) | |
| In office 7 June 2001 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | John Maxton |
| Succeeded by | Stewart McDonald |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Harris 20 February 1964 Ayrshire, Scotland |
| Party | Independent (since 2018) |
| Other political affiliations | Labour (1984–2018) |
| Spouse | Carolyn Moffat |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Napier University |
| Occupation | Former politician, journalist, and press officer |
Thomas Harris (born 20 February 1964) is a Scottish journalist and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow South, formerly Glasgow Cathcart, from 2001 to 2015. A former member of Scottish Labour, he left the party in August 2018.
Harris first entered government when he was made a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport in September 2006 by PM Tony Blair. When Gordon Brown took over as Prime Minister in June 2007, Harris kept his junior ministerial role but, in the October 2008 reshuffle, he was sacked and returned to the backbenches. On 9 June 2009, he was the first Scottish Labour MP to call for Gordon Brown to stand down as prime minister.
Harris was a candidate in the 2011 Scottish Labour leadership election, but effectively admitted defeat on 10 December a week before the result was declared. In 2012, he returned to Ed Miliband's frontbench as shadow environment minister but left in June 2013 to spend more time with his family, being succeeded by Barry Gardiner.