Tom McCabe, former Scottish Labour MSP, has died

Tom McCabe has died aged 60 after a short illness.

McCabe was the first MSP to ever be elected; his victory in Hamilton and South was announced just 75 minutes after the polls closed. He won by around 7,000 votes and represented the constituency from 1999 until 2011.

During this time he was also the minister for parliamentary business for two years (1999-2001), deputy minister for health and community care (in 2003) ,and minister for finance and public service reform (2004-2007.)

Prior to his career in Holyrood, McCabe worked for The Hoover Company and then in social work with Strathclyde Regional Council and North Lanarkshire Council.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy offered his condolences to Tom McCabe’s family and praised the work he did in Scotland:

“The thoughts and prayers of everybody in the Scottish Labour movement are with Tom McCabe’s family today. That he has died at such a relatively young age and with so much still to give makes it harder to understand and accept.

“Tom McCabe was a good man. He was a dedicated servant of the Labour movement, and was a radical Finance Minister in the last Scottish Labour Government.

“I always enjoyed Tom’s company – except on the golf course, where I could never beat him.

“The dignity he showed in his final few months should act as an inspiration to us all. He will be hugely missed.”

The thoughts of everyone at LabourList are with the McCabe family.