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The Right Honourable  Jim Murphy  MP
Secretary of State for Scotland
Incumbent
Assumed office  3 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Des Browne
Minister of State for Europe
In office 28 June 2007 â€“ 3 October 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Geoff Hoon
Succeeded by	Caroline Flint
Minister for the Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 2 November 2005 â€“ 5 May 2006
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	John Hutton
Succeeded by	Hilary Armstrong
Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire Eastwood (1997–2005)
Incumbent
Assumed office  1 May 1997
Preceded by	Allan Stewart
Majority	6,657 (14.0%)
Born	23 August 1967 (1967-08-23) (age 42) Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Claire Murphy
Children	2 sons and a daughter
Residence	Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Scotland
Religion	Roman Catholicsm[1]
Website	www.jimmurphymp.com

James "Jim" Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire since 1997, and currently is serving in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland. Prior to this, he served as Minister of State for Europe, appointed in June 2007, before which he served as Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform (from May 2006) and a number of other junior positions in Her Majesty's Government.

Life

Murphy is married to wife Claire who is a primary school teacher. Together they have three young children. Murphy is a season ticket holder at Celtic Football Club and captains the Parliamentary Football Team.^[2]

During his early years, Murphy was raised among three generations of his family in a two-bedroom flat in Arden, Glasgow. At the age of twelve, Murphy and his family emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa to escape the economic hardships of Scotland.^[3]

Murphy returned to the UK at the age of eighteen to study Politics and European Law at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow where he worked as a waiter in order to fund his studies. During his time at university, he was elected President of the National Union of Students Scotland, the Scottish 'special region' organisation within the NUS, in 1992 and served a term of office until 1994.

In 1994, Murphy took a sabbatical from university to serve as the President of the National Union of Students, an office which he held from 1994-96, during which time he was a member of the National Organisation of Labour Students. After this period, he did not return to his studies and did not take a degree.^[4]

Career

During Murphy's presidency in 1995, the NUS dropped its opposition to the abolition of the student grant in line with the Labour Party's policies. Subsequently he was condemned by a House of Commons Early Day Motion introduced by Ken Livingstone and signed by 17 Labour MPs for 'intolerant and dictatorial behaviour'.^[5] The EDM also makes reference to his parliamentary ambitions.

Murphy ended his term of office with the NUS in 1996 and at the 1997 general election, he was unexpectedly elected as MP for the Eastwood constituency, winning the formerly safe Conservative seat with a majority of 3,236^[6][7]

From 2000 to 2001, he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, which oversees public expenditure. In March 2001, he was appointed as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Helen Liddell, the Secretary of State for Scotland.

At the 2001 general election he was re-elected as MP for Eastwood, with an increased majority of 9,141.^[8]

In June 2002, he was appointed as a government whip, with responsibility for the Scotland Office, Scottish Group of Labour MPs and the Northern Ireland Office. His responsibilities were changed in November 2002 to cover the Department of Trade and Industry instead of the Northern Ireland Office, and in June 2003 to cover the Scotland Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for International Development.

For the 2005 general election, the Eastwood constituency was renamed East Renfrewshire, although the boundaries were unchanged. Murphy was re-elected with a majority of 6657^[9] and promoted to ministerial rank as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Cabinet Office. His responsibilities included e-government, better regulation and public service modernisation.

He was promoted in May 2006 to Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform, with responsibilities including employment, welfare reform and child poverty. In June 2007, he was appointed Minister of State for Europe.

In an October 2008 cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed Murphy as Secretary of State for Scotland.

Labour Party Groups

As a Government Minister, Murphy's membership of these groups is suspended in line with the Ministerial Code.

• Vice Chair Labour’s Departmental Treasury Committee (1997 - 2001)
• Vice Chair Labour’s Departmental Culture, Media and Sport Committee (1997 - 2001)
• Member of Labour’s Northern Ireland Committee
• Chair Labour Friends of Israel (2000-2002)

Notes and references

• "Jim Murphy MP". Guardian Unlimited Politics. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-3796,00.html. Retrieved 2006-05-09.  
• "Jim Murphy MP career". Guardian Unlimited Politics. http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/parliament/0,,-3796,00.html. Retrieved 2006-05-09.  
• "Jim Murphy Profile". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/mpdb/html/725.stm. Retrieved 2006-05-09.  
• "Jim Murphy Interview". Public Finance. http://www.publicfinance.co.uk/features_details.cfm?News_id=27248. Retrieved 2006-05-09.  
• "Jim Murphy MP Bio". Jim Murphy MP. http://www.jimmurphymp.com. Retrieved 2008-06-09.  

External links

• Jim Murphy MP official site
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office - Jim Murphy MP official profile
• Jim Murphy's Welfare Reform and Child Poverty blog comment on welfare reform and child poverty related issues
• Guardian Unlimited Politics - Ask aristotle: Jim Murphy MP
• TheyWorkForYou.com - Jim Murphy MP
• BBC News - Jim Murphy profile 10 February 2005
• SourceWatch -Jim Murphy MP - a fully referenced profile