Frederick Walter Scott Craig (1929 - March 23, 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of reference books. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1174 - Jocelin, Abbot of Melrose, is elected Bishop of Glasgow. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Psephology (from Greek psephos ψῆφος 'pebble' which the Greeks used as ballots is the Statistical analysis of Elections Psephology uses compilations Starting off in public relations, he compiled election results in his spare time, and later launched his own business. Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred A difficult man to work with, he suffered poor health and took his own life.
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Early life
Craig was a native of Glasgow where he worked in public relations. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Public relations (PR is the practice of managing the flow of Information between an Organization and its Publics Public relations - often referred He was active in the Scottish Unionist Party Association, and in the 1950s was invited to contribute an 'Election Manual' of election results to the Yearbook for Scotland, which the party published. The Unionist Party, referred to as the Scottish Unionist Party outside of Scotland itself was the main centre right political party in Scotland between 1912 Craig was unhappy with existing sources for election statistics and undertook research himself to correct the vote figures and discover the source of independent candidates, and his election manual became highly respected.
Political activity
In 1964, Craig acted as election Agent for the Unionist candidate in Rutherglen. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Rutherglen (from 1983 Glasgow Rutherglen) was a Constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom He twice fought for election to Glasgow Town Council in the mid-1960s, the first as an unofficial candidate against the 'Progressive Party' - a local alliance between Conservatives and Liberals which controlled the council. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party His research into elections continued and widened from Scotland to the whole of the United Kingdom, and he compiled a card index to all elections from 1918. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Reference books
Craig took a decisive step in 1968 when he set up Political Reference Publications, in order to publish his work. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The first book to be published was British Parliamentary Election Statistics 1918-1966 which summarised the results of every general election as well as giving a wealth of other information. Critical reception was very positive and Craig always considered it his favourite book. It has continued to be updated, under the title British Electoral Facts.
His series of British Parliamentary Election Results began to appear the next year with the volume for 1918-1949. The series has been completed to run from the Reform Act of 1832 to date. In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is a generic term used for legislation concerning electoral matters Year 1832 ( MDCCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Craig also started the Political Companion, a quarterly update, which ran from 1969 to 1983. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) His work was a family affair with his wife Phyllis helping with the production and administration, and his daughters undertaking the proofreading. Craig pioneered the use of technology and put the source data onto computer readable tape; the distinctive clear layout of his books was a result of his use of early computer typesetting. Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on Paper or some other medium.
Expanding company
In 1970 he moved to Chichester in West Sussex and established another company, Parliamentary Research Services, which eventually took over all his activities. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, England. It has a long history as a settlement its Roman past and its subsequent importance Settlements Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the M23 corridor His public relations background led to new lines of business including compilation of activities of Members of Parliament from votes in the House of Commons. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords He was also elected to Chichester District Council, though found it difficult to find the time. He was part of the BBC team, albeit behind the camera, on their programme covering the 1970 general election; in 1974 he switched to ITV. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent
However Craig could be a difficult man to work with. If there was a discrepancy in some of his calculations he would stay up all night until he had found it. In his later years he experienced ill health, and with all Parliamentary election results since 1832 already researched, his books were merely being revised. His death in 1989 was the result of suicide. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) After his death, his papers were given to Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of the University of Plymouth. Colin Rallings is a British academic Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. Michael Thrasher is a British academic Professor of Politics in the School of Sociology Politics & Law at the University of Plymouth. The University of Plymouth is the largest University in the southwest of England, with over 30000 students and is the fifth largest UK university based on student
Bibliography
- Craig, F. W. S. (1980). Britain votes. ISBN 0-900178-18-3.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989). British electoral facts, 1832-1987. Dartmouth. ISBN 0-900178-30-2.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1976). British electoral facts 1885-1975. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-19734-8.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989). British parliamentary election results 1832-1885. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- Craig, F. W. S. [1969] (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949, 3rd edition, Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1973). The Parliaments of England 1844 to 1850, 2nd edition, Chichester: Political Reference Publications. The Parliaments of England (ISBN 0-900178-13-2 is a compendium of election results for all House of Commons Constituencies of the Parliament of Great ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1972). Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972. Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 (ISBN 0-900178-09-4 F Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-09-4.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1968). British parliamentary election statistics 1918-1968. Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-00-0.
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