MSP Profile

Richard Lochhead has been an MSP in the Scottish Parliament since 1999, when he was elected for the Scottish National Party as a list candidate. Following a by-election in 2005 he was elected MSP for Moray and, after the SNP’s triumph in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary Elections, he began his current role as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment.

Mr. Lochhead’s current position as a Cabinet Secretary is a far cry from the 15 year old lad from Clarkston, near Glasgow, who, along with a couple of friends, joined the SNP in the dark days of the Thatcher era.

‘We couldn’t understand why whenever we switched on the TV, there was some pin-striped, old Tory making decisions about Scotland, who we hadn’t voted for,’ he explained.

After university, he moved from being a ‘keen voter’ to a party member and following jobs in the private and public sectors, he became the office manager for Scotland’s current First Minister, the SNP party leader, Alex Salmond.

‘It was a fantastic and eventful time, during which we saw the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1997. I learnt a lot from Alex; mainly that he was right kind of guy to lead us.’
Mr. Lochhead is immensely proud to be part of the first ever SNP Cabinet in Scotland and to be at the helm of Rural Affairs and the Environment; a department that he feels deals with issues that are of great importance to the country as a whole.

‘This job is very special because it deals with the rural communities that provide the raw materials for feeding the nation’, he said.

‘I live and work in such a community and I see the strong culture and heritage these living communities have.’

These rural responsibilities are intertwined with the environmental issues facing Scotland. Mr. Lochhead seeks to highlight both the threats and the opportunities that issues like climate change pose to the country.

‘Climate change could have a big impact on Scotland. Areas like Moray know the cost of bad flooding, but the problems of climate change be seen as an opportunity for Scotland. We are in a position to produce renewable resources of clean energy and also to export to other countries.’


www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/richard_lochhead/index.htm

Self Reflective Essay

We were given a brief write a profile on our local MP. My tutor suggested that I try and speak to an MSP to give a different perspective on the central government issues we had studied, and also because of the number of students on the course that would be chasing the same MPs in the Hillingdon area.

I had previously interviewed Richard Lochhead, MSP for Moray, when I undertook work experience at the Forres Gazette and since then his party, the Scottish National Party had won the Scottish general election, placing him in the Scottish executive.

One of my concerns was the fact that neither my parents nor I lived in Richard Lochhead’s Moray constituency anymore. Would he be willing (or able, as I was no longer one of his constituents) to give up his time to a student in London who he probably did not remember ever meeting?
Thankfully Mr. Lochhead did remember me and was happy to help by giving me an interview.

I contacted his office initially through email and followed up with numerous phone calls. I had to try a number of times to contact him both in his Elgin office in Moray and in his office at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. This was a useful exercise as it tested my telephone skills when I had to speak to numerous people to get the interview I wanted.

After leaving numerous messages, I received a call back from Mr. Lochhead and we conducted the interview. He was happy to talk across numerous subjects ranging from his early life and youthful politicisation to his work in the Scottish Executive and in his constituency. The interview definitely helped me to think about my interview technique and the importance of shorthand in interview situations.