Gillian Mackay

Last updated

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

(1991-08-11) 11 August 1991 (age 32) [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

Mackay was born to a father from Brora in Sutherland and a mother from Portobello, Edinburgh. [6]

Education

Mackay 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 the 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 the 5th October 2023. [10] Formal introduction of the Bill to the Scottish Parliament was completed on the 5th of October 2023. [11]

Personal life

Her mother Audrey was a music teacher in Falkirk. She passed away in December 2020. [6] She has a sister and a brother. [12]

Mackay and her fiancé are learning British Sign Language. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Greens</span> Scottish political party

The Scottish Greens are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 2022 local elections, the party sits on 13 of the 32 Scottish local councils, with a total of 36 councillors. They hold two ministerial posts in the Yousaf government following a power-sharing agreement with the SNP in August 2021, marking the first time Green Party politicians formed part of a government in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament</span> Speaker of the Scottish Parliament

The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament is the presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament. The office of presiding officer was established by the Scotland Act 1998, and the elected presiding officer is a member of the Scottish Parliament who is elected by the Scottish Parliament by means of an exhaustive ballot, and is ex officio the head of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The presiding officer is considered a figurehead of the Scottish Parliament and has an office in Queensberry House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Donald Dewar becoming First Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annabelle Ewing</span> Scottish National Party politician (born 1960)

Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, alongside Liam McArthur, since May 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cowdenbeath constituency since 2016, having previously been an MSP for the Mid Scotland and Fife region from 2011 to 2016.

Dr William Laurence Wilson is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was a regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2007 to 2011. He left the SNP in 2017 and now serves as co-convener of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Green Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Harper</span> British politician (born 1940)

Robin Charles Moreton Harper, is a Scottish politician, who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region (1999–2011). He was co-convener of the Scottish Greens (2004–2008). Harper became an MSP in the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, the first ever elected Green parliamentarian in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkirk East (Scottish Parliament constituency)</span> Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament

Falkirk East is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Falkirk. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Scottish Young Greens (SYG) is the independent youth wing of the Scottish Greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mason (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish National Party politician

John Fingland Mason is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Shettleston since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Scottish Parliament election</span> General election in Scotland

The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Johnstone</span> Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

Alison Johnstone is a Scottish politician who has served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament since 2021. Elected as a member of the Scottish Greens, she relinquished her party affiliation on becoming Presiding Officer. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Scottish Parliament election</span> Parliamentary election held in Scotland

The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary election in Scotland in which 16 and 17 year olds were eligible to vote, under the provisions of the Scottish Elections Act. It was also the first time the three largest parties were led by women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maggie Chapman</span> Scottish Greens politician

Maggie Chapman is a Scottish politician and lecturer who is a Scottish Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland. She was co-convenor of the Scottish Greens from November 2013 to August 2019, serving with Patrick Harvie, and was the party's lead candidate for the 2019 European election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Cole-Hamilton</span> Scottish Liberal Democrat politician

Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats since 2021 and the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Western constituency since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ash Regan</span> Scottish politician

Ashten Regan is a Scottish politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Eastern since 2016. Initially elected to parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP), she defected to the Alba Party. Regan served under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the minister for community safety from 2018 until she resigned in 2022 in protest against her government's Gender Recognition Reform bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Forbes</span> Former Scottish Finance and Economy Secretary

Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. She also served as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy from 2020 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Balfour</span> Scottish Conservative politician

Jeremy Ross Balfour is a Scottish Conservative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorna Slater</span> Co-leader of the Scottish Greens

Lorna Slater is a Scottish-Canadian politician, who has served as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government since 2021. She has served as co-leader of the Scottish Greens alongside Patrick Harvie since 2019, and is one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as a government minister. Slater has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariane Burgess</span> Scottish Green politician

Ariane Claire Burgess is a Scottish politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Highlands and Islands since 2021. A member of the Scottish Greens, she has served as the Scottish Parliament's Convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee since 2021.

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. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "Gillian Mackay: Some politicians 'have turned themselves into caricatures'". Holyrood Website. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.