Keith Brown
Keith Brown has been the Scottish National Party member of the Scottish Parliament for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane since 2007.[1] He was appointed Scottish energy secretary in May 2016 as part of the 'Economy, Jobs and Fair Work' ministerial portfolio.
Background
According to Brown's biography on his website,
- Before his election he served for eleven years as a councillor in Clackmannanshire, and held the post of Council Leader from 1999 to 2003. He was appointed minister for skills and lifelong learning in February 2009 and has since held a number of ministerial roles before becoming minister for transport and veterans in September 2012.
- Brown worked for 15 years as a local government professional in neighbouring Stirling, where he was also an active trade union representative with UNISON.
- He is a graduate of Dundee University and studied at the University of Prince Edward Island. Originally from Edinburgh, Keith now lives in Dollar with his three children. [2]
Fracking
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This article is part of the Spinwatch Fracking Portal and project |
Brown's parliamentary seat sits in the the prime shale zone north of the border, known as the Midland Valley of Scotland. The area was identified by the British Geological Survey in 2014 as a “prospective for oil-mature” shale and “prospective for gas-mature” shale.
In May 2016 questions were raised over whether Brown's latest ministerial post presents a conflict of interest given that that his new responsibilities include 'energy and energy consent'. Scotland currently has a moratorium on fracking which is due to be reviewed in 2017.
Half Brown's constituency lies inside the 330-square-kilometre zone named PEDL 133, an area licensed by the UK Government for hydrocarbon exploration (though not yet extraction) which includes Grangemouth.
Originally owned by beleaguered fracking firm Dart Energy, the license was bought out by petrochemical giant Ineos in 2014. The privately-run Ineos is at the forefront of a concerted push for shale gas exploration in the UK, and in January 2015 its chairman Jim Ratcliffe met with Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon on the very same day the former energy minister announced the moratorium.
Staff
- Claire McKay - Constituency Assistant to Keith Brown[3]
Affiliations
Resources
Contact
- Website:
Notes
- ↑ Keith Brown Biography, Scottish Parliament, accessed 2 June 2016
- ↑ Keith Brown biography, personal website, accessed 2 June 2016
- ↑ Register Of Interests Of Members' Secretaries And Research Assistants, 23 March 2016, parliament.uk, accessed 19 April 2016
