Torcuil Crichton (born December 1964) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Na h-Eileanan an Iar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

since

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. He previously worked as a journalist and Gaelic broadcaster.

Journalism career

Crichton was born in December 1964. He is from Swordale in Point,

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

, where he grew up. He attended Knock primary school. He worked as a journalist with the '' West Highland Free Press'', and subsequently for the '' Daily Record'' for 12 years, leaving his role as Westminster editor in 2022. He has also worked for the ''

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

'' and ''

Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...

'', as well as the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, for whom he made a Gaelic TV documentary, broadcast on

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...

, on Donald Trump's mother

Mary Anne MacLeod Mary Anne Trump ( MacLeod; ; May 10, 1912 – August 7, 2000) was a Scottish-American socialite and philanthropist, who was the wife of the real-estate developer Fred Trump and the mother of five children, including U.S. president Donald Trum ...

's journey from the

to America, '' – Trump's Mother''. He co-wrote the Gaelic TV drama which first aired on BBC Alba in 2008 and received a Bafta Scotland nomination. He has also written a teenage novel, , a modern Gaelic retelling of '' Kidnapped'' by

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

. Along with Malcolm Maclean he devised a temporary art installation, , as a memorial marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of HMY ''Iolaire'', with the loss of 201 men, on 1 January 1919. the memorial remains in place in Stornoway harbour.

Political career

He was selected as a Labour parliamentary candidate in January 2023, and elected in the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. On entering parliament, he took the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

using a Gaelic Bible.

Family

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 Alasdair James Allan (born 6 May 1971) is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency since 2007. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he served in the Scottis ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crichton, Torcuil Living people People from the Outer Hebrides Scottish political journalists Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 2024–present Scottish Labour MPs Scottish Gaelic writers 1964 births