A native of Glasgow, Graham worked as an engineer before serving on Strathclyde Regional Council from 1978 to 1987.
He was elected in 1987 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Renfrew West and Inverclyde, defeating the Conservative incumbent Anna McCurley.
[2] Following the suicide of his parliamentary colleague Gordon McMaster in July 1997, a long investigation was launched, since in his suicide note McMaster had accused Graham of smearing him that he had a homosexual affair with a 17-year-old employee of Graham's, called Scott Anderson.
[citation needed] Following his expulsion when Graham was asked where he would be sitting in the House of Commons, he replied, 'On my bum.'
In fact, he actually sat on the opposition benches of the Commons but continued to vote with the government on many issues.