Alister Jack

The Right Honourable
Sir Alister Jack
KBE DL
Official portrait, 2022
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
24 July 2019 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
Preceded byDavid Mundell
Succeeded byIan Murray
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
23 April 2019 – 24 July 2019
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byCraig Whittaker
Succeeded byColin Clark
Member of Parliament
for Dumfries and Galloway
In office
8 June 2017 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byRichard Arkless
Succeeded byJohn Cooper
Personal details
Born
Alister William Jack

(1963-07-07) 7 July 1963 (age 61)
Dumfries, Scotland
Political partyScottish Conservatives
Spouse
Ann Hodgson
​
(m. 1987)​
Children3
Alma materHeriot-Watt University

Sir Alister William Jack KBE DL (born 7 July 1963)[1] is a Scottish politician who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2019 to 2024. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dumfries and Galloway from 2017 to 2024.[2][3][4]

Early life and career

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Alister Jack was born on 7 July 1963 in Dumfries, Scotland.[5] to David and Jean Jack. His mother Jean was Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries from 2006 to 2016. He was raised in Dalbeattie and Kippford, and was educated at Dalbeattie Primary School, at Crawfordton House – a private prep school near Moniaive, Dumfriesshire – and then at Glenalmond College, an all-boys private boarding school.[5] He then attended Heriot-Watt University.[6]

Jack is a businessman, having founded tent-hire and self-storage companies, the latter building his fortune of £20 million. He currently owns a farm of 1,200 acres (500 hectares) in Courance, near Lockerbie.[7][6][8] He formerly chaired the River Annan Fishery Board and Trust, Fisheries Management Scotland and Galloway Woodlands.[9][10]

Parliamentary career

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At the 1997 general election, Jack stood in Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, coming third with 22.1% of the vote behind the Liberal Democrat candidate Michael Moore and the Labour candidate.[11]

Jack was elected to Parliament at the snap 2017 general election as MP for Dumfries and Galloway with 43.3% of the vote and a majority of 5,643.[12][13]

Once in Parliament, Jack was a member of the Treasury Select Committee from 2017-2019.[3]

On 16 February 2018, he signed a letter to Theresa May, making suggestions about the way the United Kingdom should leave the European Union.[14]

Jack was appointed parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the Leader of the House of Lords on 31 August 2018,[15] a position he held until he was appointed an Assistant Government Whip on 20 February 2019.[16]

On 23 April 2019 he was appointed Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, a role in the Government Whips Office.[16]

Secretary of State for Scotland

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Jack (right) at Royal Highland Show bicentenary celebrations with Bill Gray of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (left)

Jack was appointed as Secretary of State for Scotland by Boris Johnson on 24 July 2019.[17] Jack was the first MP of the 2017 intake to join the Cabinet.[18]

At the 2019 general election, Jack was re-elected as MP for Dumfries and Galloway with an increased vote share of 44.1% and a decreased majority of 1,805.[19][20][21][19]

He was reappointed to the Truss ministry in September 2022.[22]

On 10 September 2022, Jack attended the Accession Council and Principal Proclamation for His Majesty King Charles III at St James's Palace, London. Jack signed the Official Proclamation and witnessed His Majesty's Oath relating to the security of the Church of Scotland.[23]

On 15 September 2022, as a member of the Royal Company of Archers, Jack and fellow Cabinet Minister Ben Wallace stood vigil at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin.[24]

On 17 January 2023, Jack exercised the Section 35 power granted to him as Secretary of State for Scotland in the 1998 Scotland Act[25] and stopped the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform Bill from proceeding to Royal Assent.[26][27]

On 17 May 2023, he announced he would stand down at the 2024 general election.[28]

Appearing at the COVID-19 Inquiry in Edinburgh on 1 February 2024, Jack was asked about Nicola Sturgeon’s testimony, where she became emotional, that she was able to put aside her views on Scottish independence when making decisions during the pandemic. He dismissed this and responded that he did not believe her. Jack went on to remark that Nicola Sturgeon “could cry from one eye if she wanted to”.[29][30]

Personal life

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Jack married Ann Hodgson in 1987. They have a son and two daughters.[5][10]

Honours

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Jack was sworn as a member of the Privy Council on 25 July 2019, on his appointment as Secretary of State for Scotland.[31] He is a former deputy lieutenant for the lieutenancy area of Dumfries.[32] On 4 July 2024, Jack was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2024 Dissolution Honours for political and public service.[33][34]

References

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  1. ^ "Members' Names Data Platform query". UK Parliament. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  2. ^ "No. 27885". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 1076.
  3. ^ a b "Mr Alister Jack MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  4. ^ "BLOG: The voters of Scotland have spoken | Border - ITV News". Itv.com. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Jack, Alister William". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ^ a b "'You can sleep when you're dead' Alister Jack". The Scotsman. 27 January 2007. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Profiles of the new Scottish MPs". Holyrood Magazine. 21 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Conservatives select local farmer to fight Galloway seat". The Galloway Gazette. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Fisheries Management Scotland". Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Who are Scotland's new MPs?". BBC News. 9 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Dumfries and Galloway - 2017 Election Results - General Elections Online". electionresults.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Conservatives select local farmer to fight Galloway seat". www.gallowaygazette.co.uk.
  14. ^ Asthana, Anushka (20 February 2018). "Tory MPs' hard Brexit letter to May described as ransom note". The Guardian.
  15. ^ "New role for local MP". Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Alister Jack MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  17. ^ 10 Downing Street [@10DowningStreet] (24 July 2019). "Alister Jack has been appointed Secretary of State for Scotland" (Tweet) – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Sandhu, Serina; Butterworth, Benjamin (25 July 2019). "Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out". i News. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Dumfries & Galloway parliamentary constituency". Election 2019. BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  20. ^ Gillespie, Stuart; McFarlane, Stuart (13 December 2019). "Scottish Secretary Alister Jack re-elected as Dumfries and Galloway MP for Conservatives". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  21. ^ "UK Parliamentary General Election - December 2019" (PDF). Dumfries and Galloway Council. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  22. ^ Cochrane, Alan (5 September 2022). "With Alister Jack set to keep his job, only time will tell if he can take on Sturgeon". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 September 2022.(registration required)
  23. ^ "Attendees at the Accession Council" (PDF). Privy Council. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  24. ^ Campbell, Glenn [@GlennBBC] (15 September 2022). "Changing of the guard. Cabinet ministers Alister Jack and Ben Wallace are now standing vigil at the Queen's coffin, as members of the Royal Company of Archers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Devolution settlement: Scotland". GOV.UK. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill: statement from Alister Jack". GOV.UK. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  27. ^ "Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill". Scottish Parliament. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  28. ^ "Scottish Secretary Alister Jack to stand down at the next election". BBC News. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  29. ^ "Transcript of Module 2A Public Hearing on 01 February 2024 UK Covid-19 Inquiry Archives". UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Sturgeon could 'cry from one eye if she wanted'". BBC News. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council Held by The Queen at Buckingham Palace on 25th July 2019" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  32. ^ "The Rt Hon Alister Jack". GOV.UK. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  33. ^ "No. 64480". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 August 2024. p. 15222.
  34. ^ "Dissolution Honours 2024". GOV.UK (Press release). 4 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
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for Dumfries and Galloway
2017–2024 		Succeeded by
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Preceded by Secretary of State for Scotland
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