David Cairns

David Cairns (August 7, 1966 - May 9, 2011) was the Labour MP for Inverclyde from 2001 - 2011.

Early life

Cairns attended Notre Dame High School, a Catholic school in Greenock and the Gregorian University, Rome. Between 1991 and 1994 he was a Catholic Priest.

Political career

• 1994-7: Director, Christian Socialist Movement
• 1997-2001: Research assistant, Siobhain McDonagh MP
• Member of the joint committee on consolidation of bills (Jan 2001 - May 2005)
• PPS to Malcolm Wicks, minister of state at the department for work and pensions (Jun 2003 - May 2005)
• Parliamentary under secretary of state, Scotland (May 2006 - Jun 2007)
• Minister of state, Scotland Office (Jun 2007 - Sep 2008)
• Chair of Labour Friends of Israel twice (2005; Sept 2010 - May 2011)

Labour Friends of Israel

Funded trips to Israel

The UK Government's Register of Interests lists Cairns reported the following trips:

• On 30 June - 4 July 2003 'to Israel and Palestinian Authority to meet members of the Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority and others. Travel and accommodation paid by Labour Friends of Israel and Israeli Foreign Ministry. (Registered 21 July 2003).
• On 17 - 22 October 2004, he traveled 'to Israel and the Palestinian Territories with Labour Friends of Israel to meet members of the Israeli Government, Parliament and the military; the Palestinian Authority and grassroots organisations promoting Arab-Israeli co-operation. Travel and accommodation paid for by the Labour Friends of Israel. Part accommodation paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Registered 28 October 2004)'
• On 13-18 September 2009 he traveled to the region again. He described the destination as 'Israel and Palestine', and under 'purpose of visit', recorded: 'I met with Israeli and Palestinian politicians, community representatives, and visited health and social welfare programmes.' The donor was Labour Friends of Israel, registered address 'BM LFI, London WC1N 3XX', and the estimated value of the trip was £1,528 (Registered 25 September 2009).

Making the Progressive Case for Israel

On 15 March 2011, Cairns was scheduled to speak at an event in the House of Commons called 'Making the Progressive Case for Israel', organised jointly by New Labour pressure group Progress, Labour Friends of Israel and the New Israel Fund and advertised as a panel discussion about 'the future for progressive supporters of Israel'. Other speakers included [[Adam Ognall], chief executive of the New Israel Fund UK, Martin Bright, political editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Debbie Coulter, former deputy general secretary of the GMB union and Jennifer Gerber, LFI director, acted as chair.

John Woodcock MP writes that he delivered the keynote speech, penned by Cairns, who was not able to attend the event due to illness. Cairns died in May and Woodcock was appointed as the new LFI chair. LFI later published a collection of essays under the same name as - and including - Cairns' speech: Making the Progressive Case for Israel. Gerber, in the acknowledgements, says the speech summed up 'a campaign he wanted to launch to ensure that those on the left of British politics can feel comfortable and proud in their support for the state of Israel and in the foreword, John Woodcock writes that Cairns 'had begun planning for a book on this subject'.

Memorial trees in JNF forest

In Making the Progressive Case for Israel, LFI deirector Jennifer Gerber writes that on a trip to Israel LFI members, accompanied by Cairns' partner Dermot Kehoe, planted trees 'on the hills of Jerusalem' in memory of Cairns.

Affiliations

• Labour Friends of Israel