Bromsgrove man who became senior advisor to PM Tony Blair dies of cancer (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)
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Bromsgrove man who became senior advisor to PM Tony Blair dies of cancer
12:40pm Wednesday 8th August 2012 in News
A BROMSGROVE-born man who was a senior advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1994-2003 has died.
Derek Scott was the son of Jack and Alice Scott of Stratford Road, Bromsgrove, and, after leaving school joined the family jewellery business in High Street.
He soon decided he wanted a career in politics so resumed his education.
After university he joined the Labour Party and worked for a trade union for a time, followed by a stint at the treasury and some time as economic advisor to James Callaghan.
He then became an advisor to Denis Healey but eventually left the Labour Party to join the fledgling SDP for whom he unsuccessfully fought the Swindon parliamentary seat in 1983 and 1987.
He left the SDP when it merged with the Liberals and rejoined Labour in the early 90s when he was invited by Peter Mandleson to become economic advisor to Tony Blair who had just become the leader
of the then opposition Labour party.
On leaving Downing Street he published his memoirs “Off-Whitehall” which was the first book to openly expose the rift between Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown and caused considerable controversy in Westminster as well as setting out the case for Britain to remain outside the single currency.
Derek Scott had since been an outspoken Eurosceptic campaigning for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty and a highly regarded protagonist against Britain’s further EU integration.
He also had a successful career in the private sector as Director of European Economics at BZW, chief economist at Shell UK and international policy advisor at Shell International.
Whilst living locally he played cricket and tennis for Bromsgrove and throughout his career in London he retained his lifelong love of Aston Villa.rarely missing a home game.
Derek, was married to Gisela Stuart the MP for Edgbaston, Birmingham, and died aged 65 from stomach cancer.
