Helen Eadie

Helen Eadie
Deputy Convener of the
Scottish Parliament
Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee
In office
14 June 2011 – 9 November 2013
Preceded by Marilyn Livingstone
Succeeded by Alex Rowley
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Cowdenbeath
Dunfermline East (1999–2011)
In office
6 May 1999 – 9 November 2013
Preceded by Constituency Created
Succeeded by Alex Rowley
Majority 1,247 (4.9%)
Personal details
Born (1947-03-07)7 March 1947
Stenhousemuir, Scotland
Died 9 November 2013(2013-11-09) (aged 66)
Dunfermline, Scotland
Political party Labour Co-operative
Alma mater London School of Economics

Helen Stirling Eadie (7 March 1947 – 9 November 2013)[1] was a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who sat in the Scottish Parliament from 1999 until her death, first for Dunfermline East and from 2011 for Cowdenbeath.

Early life

Helen was born in Stenhousemuir, near Falkirk. She attended Larbert Village School, Larbert High School and Falkirk Technical College before going on to read trade union studies at the London School of Economics.[2]

She was a member of Fife Regional Council before being elected the Scottish Parliament in 1999.[2]

At the 1997 general election she contexted the Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency as the Labour candidate. She finished in third place, but increased her party's share of the vote to 15% from 8.8% in 1992.[3]

Member of the Scottish Parliament

When Labour was in power in the Scottish Executive, Eadie called for an end to tolls on the Forth Road Bridge.[1]

After the May 2003 Scottish parliament election, Eadie strongly opposed the then Labour-LibDem coalition's agreed deal to introduce the single transferable vote (STV) proportional system for future local council elections. She said it was an example of "the tail wagging the dog" and "It's about one of the smallest parties in the parliament wanting to use the power that they have to try to force through issues that they want to see steamrollered through."[1]

In November 2006, Eadie called for curfews against under-15 youths, after she was surrounded and trapped inside her car by a mob of youngsters who started rocking the car and throwing missiles at it.[1]

She was a member of many Scottish Parliament committees, but in June 2007 resigned two of her committee posts in protest at a Tory MSP being given a convener-ship of the equal opportunities committee. Eadie said at the time, the move was like "putting Attila the Hun in charge of community care".[1]

Personal life

In 2013, it emerged Eadie was being treated for cancer at the Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline, following diagnosis at the end of October.[4] She died on 9 November 2013.[1]

She was married with two daughters. [5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Labour MSP Helen Eadie dies, aged 66". BBC News online. 9 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Labour MSP Helen Eadie dies of cancer, aged 66". Daily Record. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  3. ↑ The Times Guide to the House of Commons May 1997. London: Times Newspapers Ltd. 1997. p. 218. ISBN 0-7230-0956-2.
  4. ↑ "Labour MSP Helen Eadie treated for cancer". BBC News. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Veteran Labour MSP Helen Eadie has died at 66. Scottish Express. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
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