Frank Doran (UK politician)

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Frank Doran MP
Member of Parliament for Aberdeen North
Incumbent
Assumed office  5 May 2005
Preceded by	Malcolm Savidge
Member of Parliament for Aberdeen Central
In office 1 May 1997 – 5 May 2005
Preceded by	new constituency
Succeeded by	constituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South
In office 11 June 1987 – 9 April 1992
Preceded by	Gerry Malone
Succeeded by	Raymond Robertson
Born	13 April 1949 (1949-04-13) (age 59) Edinburgh, Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Dundee
Website	www.frankdoran.org.uk

Frank Doran (b. April 13, 1949 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British politician. He is the Labour MP for Aberdeen North. He is the partner of fellow Labour MP Joan Ruddock.^[1][2]

Contents 1 Education and early career 2 Political career 3 Votes 4 Controversy of MP queue-jumping 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Education and early career

Frank Doran attended the Ainslie Park Secondary School and Leith Academy before leaving school at age 16. He took a job at the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board and was promoted to junior clerk in the legal department within a year. There, he was encouraged in his interest in law by Assistant Secretary of the Board Douglas Nellands, and he started taking night classes. After a few years, he went to the University of Dundee, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1975. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1977 and was in practice until 1988.^[3][4]

[edit] Political career

He was elected to the House of Commons at the 1987 general election for Aberdeen South by defeating the sitting Conservative and Unionist MP Gerry Malone.^[5] He was promoted to the opposition frontbench by Neil Kinnock in 1988 as a spokesperson on energy, leading on oil and gas.^[6]

Frank Doran was defeated in Aberdeen South at the 1992 general election by the Conservative and Unionist Raymond Robertson. This was the only seat which Labour lost to the Conservatives at that election.^[1] Although out of parliament he returned to Westminster as a researcher for the Labour MP Joan Ruddock, until he was re-elected at the 1997 general election for the new constituency of Aberdeen Central.

He was appointed as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry Ian McCartney in 1997. He remained in position when McCartney transferred to the Cabinet Office in 1999, after which he became a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in 2001.^[7]

Following changes to the electoral boundaries in Scotland, the constituency of Aberdeen Central was abolished prior to the 2005 general election, Doran was forced to compete against the incumbent Aberdeen North MP, Malcolm Savidge, for the Labour party candidacy in a much-altered North seat. Doran won the nomination, and was elected to represent the new Aberdeen North seat with a majority of 6,795 votes. The win gave Frank Doran the unique distinction of having represented Aberdeen South, Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen North during his parliamentary career. ^[8]

Doran is currently the chairman of the Administration Committee, and in this role he sits on the Finance and Services, Liaison and Works of Art committees.^[4] He is Secretary to the All-Party Fisheries Group, the GMB Parliamentary Group, the Trade Union Group of Labour MPs, the All Party Dance Group, and he is also Treasurer of All-Party Oil and Gas Group.^[9]

[edit] Votes

Frank Doran voted in favour of the introduction of a bill that banned smoking in restaurants in April 2003.^[10] In December 2004 and October 2005, he voted in favour of a bill enabling the British national identity card.^[11][12] In March 2002, he voted to ban the hunting of wild mammals with dogs.^[13] He voted in favour of the NHS Foundation Trust proposal.^[14] He also voted in favour of allowing unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples to adopt,^[15] and in favour of the Civil Partnership Bill.^[16] Frank Doran voted against the replacement of the Trident system.^[17]

He voted in favour of adding clauses to a bill that allow the Secretary of State to detain indefinitely, pending deportation, anyone he suspects is a terrorist, even if the law forbids that person's deportation from ever taking place.^[18] He voted against only allowing people detained at a police station to be fingerprinted and searched for an identifying birthmark if it is in connection with a terrorism investigation. ^[19]

In March 2003, he voted that the case had not yet been made for for war against Iraq.^[20] In June 2007, he voted against a motion calling for an independent inquiry by a committee of Privy Counsellors into the Iraq War.^[21]

[edit] Controversy of MP queue-jumping

Frank Doran sparked outrage when the Administration Committee that he chairs ruled that researchers and secretaries working in the House of Commons must allow MPs to jump the queue for the canteen.

Staff described the rules as "feudal", and complained they were being treated as second-class citizens, but Mr Doran said: "You cannot have an MP standing in a queue for ages: they are very busy people".

He acknowledged that the way in which staff were told about the ruling may have been better handled. ^[22]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Frank Doran MP on TheyWorkForYou.com

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gerry Malone	Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South 1987–1992	Succeeded by Raymond Robertson
Preceded by constituency created	Member of Parliament for Aberdeen Central 1997–2005	Succeeded by constituency abolished
Preceded by Malcolm Savidge	Member of Parliament for Aberdeen North 2005 – present	Incumbent