John Swinburne

John Swinburne (4 July 1930 – 1 October 2017) was an American-born Scottish politician who was the founder and leader of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (SSCUP). He was that party's only ever representative in the Scottish Parliament, serving as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland list from 2003 until 2007. Early life Swinburne was born in Pennsylvania, United States. He was educated at Dalziel High School, Motherwell. Political career In 2003 Swinburne stood for election as the SSCUP candidate and gained a list seat in Central Scotland. Swinburne called for reintroduction of the 'Belt' or 'Tawse' into Scottish schools, expressing the opinion that corporal punishment would solve what he believed were endemic discipline problems. In 2006 his statement was condemned by other MSPs and by the teaching union, the EIS.