Welcome to our website

We hope you will find the information on our website helpful and informative. The purpose of this site is to keep the people of Lanark & Hamilton East up to date with what is happening in Parliament. In this new age of Social Media it can be a tool of information seeking that can assist you to keep in touch with the work of your Member of Parliament. If you have any questions or issues you would like to bring to our attention please get in touch.

Constituency Map
Lanark and Hamilton East Constituency

Lanark and Hamilton East Constituency

Lanark and Hamilton East Constituency

Conferences

We are looking forward to Parliament returning next week after the main Party Conferences end this week with the Conservatives in Birmingham. The Lib/Dems saw their leadership squirm with toe curling apologies for tripling Student loans and cutting taxes for the super rich. Labour’s leader stole the show with a speech that even his detractors in the media were applauding. The Tories in the face of internal rebellion went to Birmingham in disarray with the economy in a double dip recession and their Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell on “home leave” since his outburst at a Downing Street security police officer calling him a “Pleb”. The former Transport Minister Justine Green, sacked by Cameron in his re-shuffle and put in charge of Overseas Development was last seen in Uganda following the recent fiasco of the West line Franchise debacle. Her return to the conference may not have the importance she may have thought. Will she join Andrew Mitchell on home leave? If she does turn up, her entrance may be via the back door of the conference hall.

Jim Hood: Fantasy Sports Betting Illegal in Mississippi

With the onrush of online games and the online gambling industry, many are looking for a clear legislature to regulate the recent industry that skyrocketed. When it comes to Mississippi, it is known that sport betting is illegal along with online casino and online poker games. Still, a new trend of fantasy sports betting made many wonder whether this could be a legal form of gambling in the southern state.

Allen Godfrey from the Mississippi Gaming Commissions sent a request addressing this issue to Attorney General Jim Hood who responded that fantasy sports could not be approved under the existing laws. Namely, according to the Attorney General, this kind of betting is prohibited because it involves betting on athletic performance and outcomes, whereby it is strictly forbidden under the Mississippi Gaming Control Act. Hood is not the only one on this, as other state attorneys in Mississippi have issued the same ruling.

Fantasy football is not to be treated differently than regular sport betting under current law as it includes the statistical performance of real professional athletes and it is not even taking place in a casino venue. He further explained that it refers to on and off casino floor likewise which means it is prohibited anywhere within the state’s borders.

The Attorney General remains firm, given that this kind of betting still involves bets which are made on how athletes perform. He further backed his decision by stating that the locals have free hands to a number of sport games on a daily basis which can be played for free enabling even wagers for cash prizes. Sites like topratedcasinosites.co.uk give the players lists of online casinos that allow real-money wagers.

This decision was issued on the day the New York Times announced that one of the biggest companies that handles the payments of fantasy betting clients, Vantiv Entertainment, would cease to handle payments of its fantasy clientele, including DrafftKings and FanDuel.

The only way to legalize fantasy sports betting is actually to pass new legislation which may or may not include betting on real-life sports events. On the other hand, the Mississippi authorities have always been skeptic about the online gambling business as they still have not passed a bill to legalize online poker games. One may ask if online poker fared like that, what are the odds for fantasy sports betting?

Parliamentary Groups

  • Member of Speakers Panel of Chairman 1997-2001, 2001-2005; 2005-
  • Member of the UK Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 2005 2010
  • Member of the UK Parliamentary Assembly to the Council of Europe (COE) 2007 -
  • Member of the Western European Union (WEU) 2007 2010

SELECT COMMITTEES

  • European Legislation 1987-98 Chairman 1992-98
  • Chairman of European Scrutiny Committee 1998-2001, 2001-2006.
  • Liaison (Committee of all Select Committee Chairman) 1992-1997, 1997-2001, 2001-2006.
  • Defence 1997-2001

PARTY GROUPS

  • Convenor, Scottish Parliamentary Group of Labour MPs 1996-97.
  • Scottish Labour Party Executive 1996-97
  • Chairman Miners Parliamentary Group 1992-94
  • Trades Union Group, AMICUS/UNITE.

BACKBENCH COMMITTEES

  • Convenor, Scottish Labour MPs Home Affairs 1987-97
  • Member, Labour Party Departmental Committees for:
  • Defence 1997-
  • Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1997-
  • Home Affairs 1997-

ALL-PARTY GROUPS

  • Secretary of CPA Overseas Territories Group 2001-2010
  • Vice-Chairman, Child Abduction Group
  • Treasurer, Nuclear Energy Group
  • Founder Chairman of ME Group