Torcuil Crichton
Torcuil Crichton | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Na h-Eileanan an Iar | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Angus MacNeil |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Labour |
Torcuil Crichton is a Scottish politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, representing Labour. He was elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election.[1] He previously worked as a journalist and Gaelic broadcaster.[2]
Journalism career[edit]
He is from Swordale in Point, Isle of Lewis, where he grew up.[2][3] He attended Knock primary school.[4]
He worked as a journalist with the West Highland Free Press. He subsequently worked for the Daily Record for twelve years, leaving his role as Westminster editor in 2022 before being selected as a Labour parliamentary candidate.[5] He has also worked for the Herald and Sunday Herald, as well as the BBC,[6] for whom he made a Gaelic TV documentary, broadcast on BBC Alba, on Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne MacLeod's journey from the Isle of Lewis to America, Mathair a' Chinn-Suidhe - Trump's Mother.[7][8]
He co-wrote the Gaelic TV drama Eilbheas which first aired on BBC Alba in 2008 and received a Bafta Scotland nomination.[9][10] He has also written a teenage novel,[11] Fo Bhruid, a modern Gaelic retelling of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson.[12]
Along with Malcolm Maclean he devised a temporary art installation, Sheol nan Iolaire, as a memorial marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMY Iolaire, with the loss of 201 men, on 1 January 1919.[13][14] As of 2024[update] it remains in place in Stornoway harbour.[15]
Family[edit]
He has a brother, Donald, who stood as the Labour candidate for Na h-Eileanan an Iar in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, coming second to Alasdair Allan.[16]
References[edit]
- ^ "Election 2024 > Na h-Eileanan an Iar results". BBC News. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ a b "ISLES CANDIDATE: Journalist Torcuil Crichton set to stand at next general election". West Highland Free Press. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ https://www.torcuil.scot/
- ^ "Whitehall 1212: Landscape and memory - for Donald Murdo MacDonald". 24 January 2013.
- ^ Hutcheon, Paul (30 January 2023). "Former Record reporter Torcuil Crichton set to become Labour candidate in Na h-Eileanan an Iar". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Sharman, David (1 February 2023). "Former regional journalist bids to become MP for UK's smallest constituency". Hold the front page. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Scotland and the first-generation Scottish-American president have always been an uncomfortable fit". 13 November 2020.
- ^ "BBC ALBA - Mathair a' Chinn Suidhe – Trump's Mother".
- ^ "BBC ALBA Gets BAFTA Scotland Nods - UK Broadcast News | 26/10/2009".
- ^ "BBC ALBA - Eilbheas". BBC. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/119167/pdf/
- ^ "Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig - Barrington Stoke".
- ^ "Lights on for the Iolaire art installation in Stornoway Harbour". Stornoway Gazette. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ "War memorials register > HMY Iolaire-Centenary Art Installation (Sheol nan Iolaire)". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Sheòl an Iolaire - Isle of Lewis". www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ Thomas, Ellen (4 February 2023). "Unspun: the Herald political diary". The Herald. Scotland. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
