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Mark's work in Parliament and in the Constituency of Edinburgh North & Leith
  Mark Lazarowicz was elected as Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith in June 2001 and was reelected in May 2005, for the now expanded Edinburgh North & Leith constituency. Since his election in 2001, he has taken a keen interest in a range of issues including climate change and the environment, debt and personal finance, road safety, trade justice and international development, and the future of the European Union and the United Nations.

In 2002 Mark successfully piloted his Private Members’ Bill - the Employee Share Schemes Bill - through the House of Commons and has also served on the Commons Committees which scrutinised the Consumer Credit Bill, and the Gangmasters Bill, and the Proceeds of Crime Bill.

In the 2005 Private Members’ Bill ballot, to decide which MPs would be able to introduce their own legislation into Parliament in the 2005/6 session, Mark was also successful in winning a high place in the draw. He is bringing forward the Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Bill. For more details, click here.
Mark Lazarowicz speaking in the House of Commons
Montage of Mark speaking in the House of Commons fading into a view of Edinburgh North & Leith Constituency
Mark is a regular contributor to House of Commons debates. The subjects on which Mark has spoken recently include the Road Safety Bill, the Consumer Credit Bill, the ‘War on Terror’, the role of the UN, and the making Parliament more accessible to the public. Mark also secured debates in the Commons on subjects such as the international HIV/AIDS crisis, the future of the East Coast Mainline and the limits on pilots flying hours.

In the 2001-5 Parliament, was a member of two Commons Select Committees: the Regulatory Reform Committee and the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs Committee. He was the Chair of the EFRA Committee’s Food Information Sub-Committee which reported recently and called for a comprehensive scheme of food labelling. Mark had also been a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.

In the current Parliament, Mark is a member of the Modernisation Committee which looks at ways of modernising the way Parliament closer to the public, a subject in which Mark has a particular interest. More>>>

Mark was named Road Safety Parliamentarian of the Year by the Road Safety Charity Brake in 2003 and was recognised again for his work in this area this year. He is currently co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Road Safety. He has also chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance since it was established, and he is now an Executive Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Debt, Trade & Aid. More>>>
 
Mark Lazarowiczcampaigning for cheaper rail fares
  Immediately prior to being elected as an MP, he worked as an Advocate at the Scottish Bar. He is a graduate of the Universities of St. Andrews and Edinburgh.

Mark has been a member of the Labour Party for more than 30 years. Mark served as a Labour Councillor on the City of Edinburgh Council from 1980 to 1996, and then from 1999 to 2001.

He was the Leader of the Council from 1986 to 1993, and was the Council's Executive Member with responsibility for transport from 1999 to 2001.
  During his term as Leader of the Council, he initiated Edinburgh's biggest ever programme of housing regeneration, and he also played a leading part in the development of the Edinburgh Festival Theatre, the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, and the Edinburgh Tourist Board.

As Executive member for transport, he was responsible for starting the largest programme of 20 mph zones in any Scottish council. He also successfully promoted bids for £20 million extra funding from the Scottish Executive to promote road and pavement repairs, bus route improvements including the now operational West Edinburgh busway system, and safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.

From 1984 to 1986, he had been the first Labour Convenor of Edinburgh Council's Recreation Committee, beginning the Council's programme of new libraries and museums, sports centres, and swimming pools (including the Ainslie Park Swimming and Leisure Centre in Pilton).
Mark Lazarowicz in front of the Shore
 
Mark holding a surgery for constituents at a local Supermarket

Mark was Labour's Parliamentary candidate in Edinburgh Pentlands in 1987 and1992, taking Labour from third to second place in the constituency in 1987, and increasing Labour's share of the vote on both occasions.

 
 
Mark Lazarowicz promoting the Coop's Fair Trade products
He was Chairperson of the Scottish Labour Party in 1989-1990, having served as a member of the Labour Party's Scottish Executive Committee from 1980.

For many years, Mark has been an active member of the Co-operative movement,and he sits in the House of Commons as a “Labour and Co-operative MP”, and is a member of the Labour & Co-operative Parliamentary Group. He is a member of the Edinburgh based Scotmid Co-operative Society.

He is also a member of the Transport & General Workers' Union, in which he has served as a branch secretary.

He has been a member of the Socialist Environment & Resources Association (SERA), and is an active member of its Parliamentary group. He is also a member of Friends of the Earth,and the Fabian Society.
         
  Mark was a member of the Executive Committee of the Scottish Constitutional Convention. As such, he helped draw up the Convention's proposals for a Scottish Parliament, which were largely reflected in the eventual Scotland Act which set up the Parliament. He has always been a strong supporter of a Scottish Parliament, and has written widely on Scottish political and legal issues. In 1999, he jointly (with Jean McFadden) wrote The Scottish Parliament: An Introduction.

This has been republished in revised 2nd and 3rd editions since 1999. More>>>		  

 
 
 


Mark lives with his family in the heart of Edinburgh North & Leith Constituency. He has four young children, who go to schools and nursery in the constituency.

He has been a member of a number of local community organisations in the Edinburgh North & Leith constituency, including the Friends of Hopetoun Gardens Park, the Leith and Broughton Local History societies, the Bellevue & Claremont Residents’Association, Friends of Inverleith Park, and the Drummond Civic Association. He has also served on the New Town, Broughton & Pilrig Community Council, and on a number of local school boards.

Mark played a leading role in the establishment of Edinburgh as Scotland’s first “Fairtrade City”. More>>>

Mark was born in Romford in 1953. He has lived in Scotland for more than 30 years.

  

For details of Mark's work in Parliament since his election as an MP, please click here.