Holyrood, made browsable

Simpson, Dr Richard

Everything we have on one MSP — voting record, motions, questions, committee work, allowances, Hansard contributions, registered interests and career history — pulled together on a single page.

MSP profile

Simpson, Dr Richard

Former (left at end of session) Scottish Labour Mid Scotland and Fife

Politically, you're most like Eadie, Helen Lab — similarity 84.7/100.

Compare with… Speeches Motions & Q+A
Divisions voted in
547
last on 16 Mar 2016
Party alignment
99.5%
0.5% rebellion
Attendance
66.9%
271 "Not Voted" of 818 divisions present
Motions lodged
371
2,702 questions · 6 unanswered
Hansard contributions
5,762
2,109 chamber · 3,653 committee
Allowances claimed
£2,034
39 transactions
Most-discussed topics in Hansard
section ·259 report ·183 bill ·158 health ·155 alcohol ·144 licensing ·144 public ·144 criminal ·144 justice ·144 stage ·100 reports ·77 financial ·55
Recent motions & questions
  • Question
    S4W-30563 · 24 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30591 · 23 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30590 · 23 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30189 · 23 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30560 · 22 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30559 · 22 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30588 · 22 Mar 2016
  • Question
    S4W-30586 · 22 Mar 2016
Recent rebellions

Divisions where they voted against their party's majority position.

Motion success

Of the motions they've lodged that went to a vote, how often did the chamber agree.

Lodged
371
Carried
3
Defeated
9
Not divided
359

Of the 12 motions that went to a vote, 25.0% were carried.

Closest voting allies

MSPs who voted the same way most often across shared divisions.

Furthest apart on votes

MSPs they vote against most often.

MSPs like this one

Composite of voting agreement, sponsorship overlap, and Hansard topic affinity. Weighted 50 / 25 / 25.

Voice fingerprint

Words and phrases this MSP uses far more often than the chamber average (TF-IDF over their Hansard contributions).

drinkers hazardous drinkers minimum unit harmful drinkers unit pricing delayed discharges nursing home mental welfare time-out general practice exceptional attachment sheffield
Career arc

Unified timeline: party joinings, seat changes, committee appointments, ministerial roles.

  1. ☷
    Left Finance Committee
    23 Mar 2016
  2. ☷
    Left Public Audit Committee
    23 Mar 2016
  3. ⌂
    Stood down from Mid Scotland and Fife (Dissolution)
    23 Mar 2016
  4. –
    Left Scottish Labour
    23 Mar 2016
  5. ☷
    Joined Finance Committee as Substitute Member
    08 Sep 2015
  6. ☷
    Joined Public Audit Committee as Member
    02 Sep 2015
  7. ☷
    Left Health and Sport Committee
    02 Sep 2015
  8. ☷
    Left Local Government and Regeneration Committee
    03 Sep 2013
  9. ☷
    Joined Local Government and Regeneration Committee as Substitute Member
    23 Jun 2011
  10. ☷
    Joined Health and Sport Committee as Member
    01 Jun 2011
  11. ⌂
    Started representing Mid Scotland and Fife
    05 May 2011
  12. +
    Joined Scottish Labour
    05 May 2011
  13. ☷
    Left Public Petitions Committee
    22 Mar 2011
  14. ☷
    Left Health and Sport Committee
    22 Mar 2011
  15. ⌂
    Stood down from Mid Scotland and Fife (Dissolution)
    22 Mar 2011
  16. –
    Left Scottish Labour
    22 Mar 2011
  17. ☷
    Joined Public Petitions Committee as Substitute Member
    15 Sep 2010
  18. ☷
    Left Justice Committee
    15 Sep 2010
  19. ☷
    Joined Justice Committee as Substitute Member
    02 Oct 2008
  20. ☷
    Left Subordinate Legislation Committee
    20 Sep 2007
  21. ☷
    Joined Health and Sport Committee as Member
    20 Sep 2007
  22. ☷
    Left Audit Committee
    20 Sep 2007
  23. ☷
    Joined Subordinate Legislation Committee as Member
    27 Jun 2007
  24. ☷
    Joined Audit Committee as Member
    13 Jun 2007
  25. ⌂
    Started representing Mid Scotland and Fife
    03 May 2007
  26. +
    Joined Scottish Labour
    03 May 2007
  27. ☷
    Left Local Government Committee
    31 Mar 2003
  28. ☷
    Left Finance Committee
    31 Mar 2003
  29. ⌂
    Stood down from Ochil (Dissolution)
    31 Mar 2003
  30. –
    Left Scottish Labour
    31 Mar 2003
  31. ☷
    Joined Local Government Committee as Member
    28 Nov 2002
  32. ☷
    Joined Finance Committee as Member
    28 Nov 2002
  33. ★
    Left Deputy Minister for Justice
    26 Nov 2002
  34. ★
    Appointed Deputy Minister for Justice
    28 Nov 2001
  35. ☷
    Left Health and Community Care Committee
    28 Nov 2001
  36. ☷
    Left Finance Committee
    01 Feb 2000
  37. ☷
    Joined Finance Committee as Deputy Convener
    18 Jan 2000
  38. ☷
    Left Finance Committee
    18 Jan 2000
  39. ☷
    Left Standards Committee
    18 Nov 1999
  40. ☷
    Joined Standards Committee as Member
    07 Oct 1999

4 earlier events not shown.

Who backs their motions most
Whose motions they back most
Recent contributions to the Official Report
  • Subordinate Legislation Committee
    16 Mar 2016
    First, I welcome the fact that the minister has brought forward this SSI. At every stage, I have said that I support it. I do not wish to interrupt the pilot—I…
  • Subordinate Legislation Committee
    16 Mar 2016
    Thank you. It is important to recognise that we are dealing with individuals; in Parliament, we tend to get lost in dealing with categories. The minister says …
  • Subordinate Legislation Committee
    16 Mar 2016
    That is excellent; I will conclude at that point.
  • Subordinate Legislation Committee
    16 Mar 2016
    Thank you, convener. I am sorry to drag the committee here on such a busy day. This is a new experience for me—I have not moved an motion to annul a Scottish s…
  • Portfolio Question Time Chamber
    16 Mar 2016
    The minister will be aware of the fact that there are 164 more special school pupils than there were in 2008, with a total of 6,920, but that there are 172 few…
Committee & government roles

Government

Committee

Career timeline

Party

Seats