Frank Roy

{{Short description|British politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | image =  | honorific_prefix = | name = Frank Roy | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} | office = Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | prime_minister = Tony Blair<br />Gordon Brown | 1blankname = Chancellor | 1namedata = Gordon Brown<br />Alistair Darling | term_start = 5 May 2006 | term_end = 6 May 2010 | predecessor = Tom Watson | successor = Brooks Newmark | office1 = Member of Parliament <br /> for Motherwell and Wishaw | parliament1 = | majority1 = | predecessor1 = Constituency Created | successor1 = Marion Fellows | term_start1 = 1 May 1997 | term_end1 = 30 March 2015 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|08|29|df=yes}} | birth_place = Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Ellen Roy<ref name=wpr/> | party = Labour | relations = | children = 2<ref name=wpr/> | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = [http://frankroy.org.uk/ frankroy.org.uk] | footnotes = }} '''Francis Roy''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}} (born 29 August 1958) is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1997 to 2015. He was a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury from 2006 to 2010, after having served as an Assistant Whip from 2005.

==Early life==

Roy was educated at Our Lady's High School, Motherwell, and later at Motherwell College (1992) and Glasgow Caledonian University in Consumer and Management Studies (1994).<ref name=wpr>{{cite news |url=http://www.parliamentaryrecord.com/content/profiles/mp/Frank-Roy/506 |title=Frank Roy MP |newspaper=Westminster Parliamentary Record |accessdate=4 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104152240/http://www.parliamentaryrecord.com/content/profiles/mp/Frank-Roy/506 |archivedate=4 November 2014}}</ref>

Roy was, like many others in the area, a steelworker until he was made redundant in 1991 when Ravenscraig Steelworks closed. He describes the strikes of the 1980s as ensuring his "politicisation was cemented for life"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roy|first1=Frank|title=Frank Roy MP recalls his days as a Ravenscraig steelworker|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/frank-roy-mp-recalls-his-days-as-a-ravenscraig-steelworker.17941818|accessdate=30 March 2015|work=Evening Times|date=26 June 2012}}</ref>

==Political career== Roy worked as a parliamentary assistant to Helen Liddell MP before becoming MP for Motherwell and Wishaw.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}} He is the first MP born locally to represent Motherwell and Wishaw.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

In 2001 Roy resigned as parliamentary private secretary to Helen Liddell in the wake of the cancellation of a visit to Carfin Grotto by Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Ahern was due to visit the grotto to open a memorial to victims of the Great Famine but the visit was cancelled due to Roy's advice of risk of possible sectarian violence,<ref name=telegraph-20010212>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1322267/Frank-Roy-resigns-over-Ahern-visit.html |title=Frank Roy resigns over Ahern visit |author=Tara Womersley |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=12 February 2001 |accessdate=4 November 2014}}</ref> despite statements from Strathclyde Police that they did not consider the visit to be a security risk.<ref name=bbc-20010211>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/1165035.stm |title=Ahern row MP quits as aide |publisher=BBC |date=11 February 2001 |access-date=4 November 2014}}</ref>

In 2015, Roy worked on Liz Kendall's unsuccessful bid for the Labour leadership.

He is the father of Brian Francis Roy, former general secretary of Scottish Labour.

Roy was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for political and public service.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63918|supp=y|page=N10|date=31 December 2022}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://frankroy.org.uk/ Frank Roy MP] official site *{{UK MP links | parliament = mr-frank-roy/626 | publicwhip = frank_roy | theywork = frank_roy}}

{{S-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-new | constituency}} {{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw | years = 1997–2015 }} {{s-aft | after=Marion Fellows}} {{S-end}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Frank}} Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Scottish Labour MPs Category:Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Category:People educated at Our Lady's High School, Motherwell Category:UK MPs 1997–2001 Category:UK MPs 2001–2005 Category:UK MPs 2005–2010 Category:UK MPs 2010–2015 Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire