residence predecessor successor children birth_place constituency_mp nationality party birth_date term_start spouse article_title term_end name alma_mater
scottish borders , middlesex and malta patrick wall graham stuart dr alexandra cran-mcgreehin aberdeenshire , scotland beverley holderness -lrb- 1997 -- 2005 -rrb- -lrb- 1987 -- 1997 -rrb- and beverley and british conservative 28 january 1944 12 june 1987 penelope barbara wilson james cran
 11 april 2005 james cran university of aberdeen
james cran

james douglas cran -lrb- born 28 january 1944 -rrb- is a british former conservative party politician .
he was the member of parliament -lrb- mp -rrb- for beverley -lrb- 1987 -- 1997 -rrb- and for beverley and holderness -lrb- 1997 -- 2005 -rrb- in northern england .
`` he was a highland scots presbyterian , neat , shy , puritanical , ambitious , perfectionist , very decent , impatient .
a flinty aberdonian eurosceptic and ulster unionist whose quirkiness makes him difficult to predict . ''
he stepped down at the 2005 general election .
with the continued decline in the relevance and effectiveness of parliament as a check on government , he decided to retire and resultantly his attendance record fell and he was dubbed by the media as `` the invisible cran '' .
he concentrated on attending the defence select committee -lrb- 2001 -- 05 -rrb- and frequently chairing bill and other committees in parliament as a member of the chairman of ways and means panel -lrb- 2001 -- 05 -rrb- .
