Michael John Rumbles (born 10 June 1956) is a former

Scottish Liberal Democrat The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1, ...

politician. He served as a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for North East Scotland, from

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. He previously represented West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine before being defeated at the 2011 election in the successor constituency of Aberdeenshire West).

Background

Rumbles was born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

in England and was educated at St James School in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

, County Durham, Sunderland Polytechnic where he graduated with a BEd, and

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. He served in the Royal Army Education Corps retiring as a Major in October 1994. Rumbles obtained an MSc in economics at

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

and he studied at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

where he completed a PGD in Employment Law.

Career

Rumbles was elected to the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency in the 1999 election, and comfortably held the seat in the 2003 election and 2007 election but was defeated by the SNP in 2011. Following the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

's establishment in 1999, Rumbles was Convenor of the Standards Committee when it was charged with investigating the so-called 'Lobbygate' scandal, in which the son of the then

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

John Reid was embroiled. He promoted the legislation to establish an independent Standards Commissioner, the first Committee Bill of the Parliament.Stewart, Thomas A.W. (Ed.) (2019), ''The Scottish Parliament in its Own Words: An Oral History'', Luath Press, p. 45

Leadership contests

On 12 May 2005, Rumbles announced his intention to stand for the vacant post of leader of the

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...

. His candidacy involved a distinct platform from his opponent

Nicol Stephen Nicol Ross Stephen, Baron Stephen (born 23 March 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 2005 to 2007. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, he ...

. In particular, he specified a number of 'deal-breakers' for any coalition negotiations that might occur in the aftermath of the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, with an absolute insistence on the implementation of key Liberal Democrat policies such as abolition of the council tax, and an enhancement of the

's powers. He also aimed to give the Liberal Democrats a more equal status within the coalition. He lost to Stephen in June 2005, winning 23.4% of the vote. On 2 July 2008, following Stephen's surprise resignation as leader, Rumbles again announced his intention to stand for the Scottish Liberal Democrat leadership. This time he stressed his commitment to reviewing party policy on whether to hold a national

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

(the policy of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

government). In the contest he faced former Ministers Ross Finnie and

Tavish Scott Tavish Hamilton Scott (born 6 May 1966) is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Lea ...

. Scott won the contest comfortably.

Personal life

Rumbles married Pauline Sillars in 1985. They have two sons.

References

External links

*
Mike Rumbles
profile on Scottish Liberal Democrats website {{DEFAULTSORT:Rumbles, Mike 1956 births Living people People from South Shields Politicians from Tyne and Wear Alumni of the University of Sunderland Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Liberal Democrat MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Royal Army Educational Corps officers Alumni of Aberystwyth University Alumni of the University of Leicester Military personnel from Tyne and Wear 20th-century British Army personnel