Andy Kerr (Scottish politician)

Early years

Born in East Kilbride, Kerr was educated at Claremont High School in East Kilbride and obtained a BA in Social Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University. Prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament, he was a senior officer in Glasgow City Council land services department and served as an adviser in the Leader's office. He was also founder and managing director of Achieving, a quality assurance consultancy.

Parliamentary career

He was convener of the Scottish Parliament's Transport and Environment Committee and served on the Confederation of British Industry working group designed to bring Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) and business closer together as well as being on the cross-party group on ageing and the elderly.

Kerr is considered to be an ally of Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Jack McConnell, working with him on his two successive bids for the leadership of Scottish Labour and the position of First Minister.

Kerr was first appointed Minister for Finance and Public Services in the Scottish Executive in November 2001 and moved to become Minister for Health and Community Care in October 2004, replacing Malcolm Chisolm. As Health Minister, Kerr oversaw significant NHS restructuring.

He was also responsible for the Scottish ban on smoking ban in public places which was introduced on 26 March 2006. In November 2006, he won the Scottish Politician of the Year award in recognition of his work to bring in the smoking ban. Kerr retained the health portfolio in McConnell's shadow cabinet upon the Scottish National Party's victory at the 2007 election.

Having ruled himself out of contention as a successor for Jack McConnell, Kerr voted for Wendy Alexander to become leader of the Scottish Labour Party. On 17 September 2007 he was appointed Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Public Services and Local Government. With Wendy Alexander's resignation as leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, Kerr stood for election as the next leader. However, following the victory of Iain Gray in the leadership election, Kerr was appointed Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth.

At the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Kerr was one of many Labour casualties, losing his seat after 12 years to Linda Fabiani of the SNP. Kerr did not stand on the regional list, so therefore did not return as an MSP.

After Politics

On 11 July 2011, it was announced that Andy had been appointed to the vacant CEO position at Scottish Charity Organisation, Sense Scotland.

In April 2019, Andy Kerr was appointed Chief Operating Officer at the newly formed Piper Group of charities, partnering Sense Scotland with Enable Scotland. Five Months later, Sense Scotland would quit the partnership, however, Andy Kerr remained in post at The Piper Group.

In November 2019, he was appointed to the Board of the Scottish Funding Council, and in 2020, Andy Kerr was appointed Chair of the Scottish Government's Fair Work in Social Care Group.

In 2016, Andy Kerr was accused of corruption for paying £180,000 for the historic John Hastie Museum from the council before it was on the market, a century after it was bequeathed to the people of the Lanarkshire town of Strathaven.

The sale of the John Hastie Museum in Strathaven has raised questions about how former Labour minister Andy Kerr was able to purchase this community asset without it being publicly marketed. The museum, originally gifted to the town, was sold by South Lanarkshire Council to a local developer, who subsequently sold it to Kerr for £180,000. While specific details about the council's decision-making process and whether the property was publicly listed are not provided in the available sources, the transaction led to community concerns and allegations of "corruption" on social media platforms. These allegations resulted in a defamation lawsuit against a Facebook group moderator, highlighting the community's unease regarding the sale of the museum.

Personal life

Kerr lives in Strathaven with his wife and he has 3 daughters.

References

References

1. [https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/6156548.stm Deportation campaign wins award], ''[[BBC News]]'', 17 November 2006
2. Public Information Service. (8 June 2008). "Scottish Parliament Factsheet - MINISTERS, LAW OFFICERS AND MINISTERIAL PARLIAMENTARY AIDES, BY CABINET: SESSION 2".
3. (6 May 2011). "Labour 'class of '99' lose to SNP". BBC.
4. http://www.sensescotland.org.uk/news/new-ceo-announcement.php{{dead link. (October 2016)
5. Graham, Martin. "Major charity partnership to shake up the social care sector".
6. Robert, Armour. "EXCLUSIVE: Sense Scotland quits partnership with Enable".
7. "Andy Kerr".
8. "Pay rise for social care staff".
9. (2016-04-21). "How an ex-Scottish Labour minister sparked a landmark Facebook defamation case".
10. (21 April 2016). "Ex-Scottish Labour minister Andy Kerr who bought museum mansion sparks landmark Facebook defamation case | Glasgow Times".
11. (21 April 2016). "Property purchase leads to unusual defamation case".