James Mitchell

Rt Hon Henry McLeish began his political career as an elected member in local government in 1974, and was leader of Fife Regional Council for five years. In 1987 he was elected as a member of the UK Parliament and acted as Minister for Devolution and Home Affairs in the Labour government from 1997 to 1999. In the first Scottish Parliament he was Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning from 1999, and in 2000 he became First Minister of Scotland until 2001. Retiring from politics in 2003, he is now an adviser, consultant, writer author and broadcaster and lectures in the USA and elsewhere on the European Union and politics. He chaired the Scottish Prisons Commission, which produced a report into sentencing and the criminal justice system entitled ‘Scotland’s Choice’. In 2010 he conducted a major report on the state of football in Scotland, which had been commissioned by the Scottish Football Association, and chaired a commission into sport requested by the Scottish government. He is now an honorary professor at Edinburgh University.

James Mitchell holds the chair in Public Policy and is Director of the Academy of Government at the University of Edinburgh. He previously held chairs at the University of Strathclyde and Sheffield.
His research has included studies of political parties and public opinion in Scotland. His most recent work has included studies of the SNP, Scottish elections and the independence referendum.
All of his work is informed by an appreciation of the importance of the past in its impact on current concerns.