Gillian Mackay

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Gillian Mackay
MSP
Gillian Mackay 2021.jpg
Affirming in 2021
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 May 2021
Personal details
Born
Gillian Audrey Mackay

(1991-08-11) 11 August 1991 (age 33) [1]
Falkirk, Scotland
Political party Scottish Greens
Alma mater Heriot-Watt University

Gillian Audrey Mackay [2] (born 1991) is a Scottish Green politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. [3] She is the first Green MSP ever to be elected in Central Scotland. [4]

Contents

Raised in Grangemouth, she is a graduate in marine biodiversity and biotechnology from Heriot-Watt University. She has the sensory disorder Ménière's disease. [5]

Early life and education

Mackay was born to a father from Brora in Sutherland and a mother from Portobello, Edinburgh. [6] She attended Heriot-Watt University and played badminton, hockey and rugby. [6]

Political career

Mackay first entered politics with an internship with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood. [5] She received the internship through a program which aimed to support disabled people in politics. [5] She subsequently went on to become a Regional Campaign Support Officer for the Lothian region.

Prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament, Mackay was an unsuccessful candidate in the Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency in the 2019 UK general election, and also stood in the 2017 City of Edinburgh Council election and the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom. [5]

She is the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for health and social care, [7] and currently sits on the Parliamentary Bureau for the party. [8]

Mackay lodged the draft proposal for her Members Bill, "the Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland)", on 18 May 2023; with the final proposal lodged on 15 June 2023. The consultation for the Bill received 11,827 personal responses and 52 organisational responses. [9] The Bill subsequently received support from MSP's from all Parties in the Parliament and Mackay secured the right for the Bill to be introduced on 5 October 2023. [10] Formal introduction of the Bill to the Scottish Parliament was completed on 5 October 2023. [11] The bill passed the Scottish Parliament with a near unanimous support, passing 118-1. [12] . In February 2025 Mackay indicated that praying inside one's home could be illegal if done "performatively", depending on who passes by the window, but "it requires someone to complain about them…and to find them intimidating and harassing as well". [13]

Personal life

Her mother, Audrey, was a music teacher in Falkirk. She died in December 2020. [6] She also has a sister and a brother. [14]

In 2023, Mackay and her fiancé were said to be learning British Sign Language. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ↑ "2019 Westminster Parliamentary election results". Falkirk Council . Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Mcilkenny, Stephen (8 May 2021). "Patrick Harvie says list votes for Greens up across Scotland". The Herald . Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Paterson, Kirsty (8 May 2021). "Scottish Election 2021 results: Scottish Greens win first MSP in Central Scotland". The Scotsman . Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ross, Calum (12 October 2020). "On a whim: Gillian Mackay stumbled into politics but now is taking great strides". The Courier . Dundee. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "10 things that changed my life with Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay". The National. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  7. ↑ Nutt, Kathleen (21 May 2021). "Scottish Greens unveil roles for all their Holyrood team following the election". The National. Herald and Times Group. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Parliamentary Bureau". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Mackay, Gillian. "Proposed Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill – Gillian Mackay MSP" (PDF). www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Proposed Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Scotland Bill". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Bills and Laws - Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill".
  13. ↑ Boothman, John (27 February 2025). "Praying at home illegal 'depending on who passes window', MSP admits". www.thetimes.com. News UK. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  14. ↑ Paterson, Kirsty (11 May 2021). "Gillian Mackay: Grangemouth's groundbreaking Green MSP to be sworn in at Holyrood". www.falkirkherald.co.uk. JPMedia Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "Gillian Mackay: Some politicians 'have turned themselves into caricatures'". Holyrood Website. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.


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