Labour MP Cunninghame North

Date of birth

13 December 1948

Political profile

Brian Wilson had one of the most peripatetic ministerial careers in the government; when Labour came to power, he joined the Scottish Office before being moved to the Department of Trade and Industry.

He then returned to the Scottish Office before briefly becoming a Foreign Office minister.

He returned to the DTI as energy minister after the 2001 election, taking the opportunity to capitalise on his pro-nuclear power views.

But he left the government in the June 2003 reshuffle, saying he was looking forward to having a more normal life with his family.

His varied career was in part connected to the high regard in which he was held by the leadership as a political operator.

He was one of the most hard-hitting ministers in the government, who gives very little quarter to his opponents, whether they are vested interests, opposition parties or internal Labour dissenters.

He is a former radical journalist and committed advocate of Scottish law reform, though he was never a strong supporter of devolution.

Contact

Commons office 0207 219 4033

[email protected]