Biography of Michael Moore MP

Positions held

• Member of Parliament for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk
• Secretary of State for Scotland

Background

Michael Moore was born in Northern Ireland in June 1965. His father was a Chaplain in the British Army and when he left the forces in 1970 the family moved to Wishaw. Michael attended Strathallan School in Perthshire until the family moved to the Borders in 1981. At Jedburgh Grammar School he became involved in politics and joined the local Liberals. He worked on Archy Kirkwood MP's first campaign in the 1983 general election before going to Edinburgh University. Graduating in 1987 with an honours degree in politics and modern history, he went to work as a researcher for Archy in the House of Commons.

After a year at Westminster, Michael joined Coopers & Lybrand in Edinburgh where he qualified as a Scottish chartered accountant and obtained a wide range of business experience over the following few years.

Political career

Following Sir David Steel's retirement from the House of Commons at the 1997 general election, Michael retained the Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale seat (expanded to include Penicuik) for the Liberal Democrats with a majority of 1,489 over Labour. In the 2001 general election, his majority increased to 5,157, again over Labour.

In line with the Scotland Act, which established the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the number of Scottish constituencies represented in the House of Commons was reduced from 72 to 59. Michael was elected as the Member of Parliament for the new seat of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk with a majority of 5,901 over the Conservatives at the general election on 5 May 2005.

On 6 May 2010, Michael was re-elected to the seat with a majority of 5675 over the Conservatives.

The seat stretches from Heriot in the north to Newcastleton in the south and from St. Mary's Loch in the west to Eyemouth in the east.

In May 2010 Michael was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Scotland.

Constituency work

In the constituency Michael's focus has been on the economic challenges of the area, most notably in textiles, farming and tourism.

Working with colleagues and local agencies, his joint campaigns over a number of years resulted in a number of successes: Assisted Area Status for the region regained, ensuring access for local businesses to millions of pounds of government assistance; over £20 million of European funding secured to underpin jobs in the area; and the first serious steps taken to ensure the return of a railway to the Borders.

He has also worked with colleagues and the Scottish Low Pay Unit on low pay issues in the region and promoting campaigns to encourage pensioners to claim all their entitlements.

Much of his casework focuses on the problems of the benefits system, tax credits and the Child Support Agency. He is also actively campaigning against the Government's plans to close rural post offices.

Following the Government's decision to start the 'digital switchover' process in the Border television region, Michael established the 'Borders Digital Forum' to bring together local people and industry experts in an effort to make the transition a success. As part of his campaign to ensure that the Borders benefits from the whole switchover process, Michael persuaded the BBC to bring digital radio to the Borders in October 2007.

Parliamentary work

Following Nick Clegg's election as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007, Michael was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. He had been the party's Foreign Affairs spokesman under the leadership of Sir Menzies Campbell, and was previously the Defence spokesman.

In the previous Parliament, Michael was appointed Deputy Foreign Affairs Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats in November 2001. For three years he was a Governor and Vice Chairman of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which supports democracy building projects in Africa and other parts of the world. In 2003-04 he was a Parliamentary Visiting Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. In July 2004 he was elected to the Council of The Royal Institute of International Affairs ("Chatham House") for the first time and in 2007 he was re-elected.

Before the 2001 general election, he was the UK Transport spokesman in the party’s Shadow Cabinet. Prior to taking up this role, Michael was the Scottish spokesman on the economy and a member of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee.

He was the party's campaign chairman for the 1999 Scottish Parliament elections, and retained this role for the 2003 elections. In October 2007 he was re-elected to the post of Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, which he has held since 2002.

Family and interests

Michael was born in 1965. He married his wife Alison in Melrose Parish Church in August 2004. Alison is originally from Manchester where her family is still based. Michael and Alison live in the Borders. Their daughter, Ella, was born in 2009.

Michael's interests include supporting local rugby teams, hill walking and films.

---