Richard Simpson (politician)

Infobox MSP
honorific-prefix =
name = Richard Simpson
honorific-suffix =

---

imagesize = 150px
caption =
constituency_MP = Mid Scotland and Fife
parliament = Scottish
majority =
term_start = 3 May 2007
term_end =
predecessor =
successor =
constituency_MP2 = Ochil
parliament2 = Scottish
majority2 =
term_start2 = 6 May 1999
term_end2 = 1 May 2003
predecessor2 = "new constituency"
successor2 = George Reid
birth_date = Birth year and age|1942
birth_place = Edinburgh
death_date =
death_place =
birthname =
nationality =
party = Scottish Labour Party
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation = Psychiatrist
profession =
cabinet =
committees =
religion =


website =
footnotes = Dr Richard Simpson (born 1942, Edinburgh) is a Scottish Labour politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Ochil constituency from 1999 to 2003, currently a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid-Scotland and Fife region as of the 2007 election

A GP and psychiatrist prior to his election, he was made the deputy Justice minister when Jack McConnell became First Minister in 2001. In 2002 he was alleged to have referred to striking firemen as "fascists - the kind of people who supported Mussolini". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2513847.stm] and as a result of this he resigned in order to avoid compromising the imminent pay negotiations.

In the 2003 election he was defeated by George Reid of the Scottish National Party.

Between 2003 and 2007 he worked within Addiction medicine, first within Glasgow then as Consultant Psychiatrist in charge of the Drug Addiction Team of West Lothian.

Dr Simpson is the current Deputy Party Spokesperson on Health for the Labour Party and is the Co-Convener of the Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament on Drug and Alcohol Misuse and on Mental Health. He is also a Member of the Cross-Party Groups in the Scottish Parliament on Epilepsy, Golf, Palestine, Tobacco Control and Visual Impairment.

External links

* [http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/history/whisp/whisp-02/wh126-01.htm Richard Simpson MSP Biography at the Scottish Parliament website]
Template group
title = Richard Simpson
titlestyle = style="background:#eee;
list =