2024 general election campaign
In February 2023,McKee was selected as the Labour Party's prospective parliamentary candidate for Glasgow South in the 2024 general election,which had been held by Stewart McDonald of the SNP since 2015. [15] [16] McKee said he made the decision to stand for Parliament because he wanted to tackle child poverty,which he blamed on 14 years of Conservative UK governance and 17 years of devolved SNP governance. [5] As Labour's candidate,McKee downplayed constitutional issues like devolution and independence to instead focus on the shared progressive politics of SNP and Labour voters,campaigning on improved public services,a "progressive Labour government" and a shared desire to defeat the Conservatives,in order to appeal to voters who previously backed the SNP or Scottish independence. [15] [6] [3] McKee also dismissed Labour's opinion poll lead,warning that seats in Scotland would still be competitive unlike seats in England and Wales,but nonetheless remained optimistic of his chances at the election. [7] [17] McKee's candidacy was endorsed by Labour Digital,a pressure group chaired by Labour MP Alex Davies-Jones which supported MPs promoting policies supporting technological advancement and regulation. [18]
On 4 July 2024,McKee was elected as the new Labour MP for Glasgow South having won 17,696 votes,or 41.8%,on a majority of 4,154,or 9.8%,over McDonald's 13,542,or 32%. [19] Elected at the age of 29,McKee became one of the youngest MPs of the 2024 parliamentary intake,as well as the first Labour MP to represent Glasgow South since McDonald won the seat from Tom Harris in the 2015 general election. [20] [21] McKee was elected amid a Labour landslide across Scotland at the expense of the SNP,which saw all six constituencies in Glasgow won by Labour candidates from the SNP. [22] Following his victory,McKee said Scottish Labour MPs would be "at the very heart" of the new Labour government of Keir Starmer. [23] Stephen Daisley of The Spectator named McKee as one of several newly elected senior Scottish Labour MPs and labelled him a "rising star". [24]
Westminster
McKee made his maiden speech to Parliament on 25 July 2024 during a House of Commons debate on the newly established Code of Conduct and Modernisation Committee. [25] Shortly after his election,he became vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group On Tennis. [21] During the 2024 Labour Party freebies controversy,he caused controversy when it emerged that he was gifted tickets worth £550 to the men's final of the Wimbledon Championships a little more than a week after being elected. [26] McKee said he had been offered the tickets by the Lawn Tennis Association and accepted them because it had investments in his constituency and he wanted these to continue. [21]
Following his election to Parliament in July 2024,McKee became a founding member of the Labour Growth Group,a new caucus of backbench Labour MPs described as leaning towards the right-wing of the Labour Party and serving to support the leadership of Keir Starmer. [27] [28] [29] After joining the group,which mainly campaigns on house building and economic growth and promotes Labour's manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes over the 2024–2029 parliamentary term,McKee said he and his colleagues would "always support the builders,not the blockers" and described sustainable economic growth as the way to improve living standards across the UK,adding that this could only be achieved by "saying yes to major reform,construction and investment in housing and services". [29]
Following the 2024 State Opening of Parliament,McKee followed the Labour Party whip in voting against an amendment to the King's Speech by the SNP,which would have committed the new Labour government to abolishing the two-child benefit cap in England and Wales,despite the SNP's own support for the cap in Scotland where some welfare policy is devolved. [30] The government said it could not afford to abolish the cap,which would cost an estimated £2.5 billion,with the UK facing a £22 billion deficit which it blamed on the previous Conservative government. [31] [32] After the vote,McKee said he wished the government could abolish the cap and promised that Labour would do so as soon as possible,but said it was unable to immediately because of the economic inheritance left by the Conservatives. He encouraged his constituents to contact their MSPs to campaign for its abolition in Scotland by the devolved Scottish Government. [30] McKee also voted in favour of the government's policy of means testing the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners in England and Wales in September 2024,pointing to the £400 rise in the State Pension and the £22 billion deficit. [33] [34]
In October 2024,McKee joined the International Development Committee. He told The Scotsman that he had joined because many of his constituents worked at the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office in Glasgow and he felt it was important for Scottish representation on the committee,and also wanted to help secure aid into the Gaza Strip ahead of a rumoured blockade of northern Gaza by Israel during its invasion of Gaza,which he called "appalling". [35] In November 2024,Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed McKee to the United Kingdom's delegation on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. [36] McKee was also appointed as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to the secretary of state for work and pensions,Liz Kendall,and became a member of the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. [37] [38] He has continued to serve as a PPS under Kendall's successor Pat McFadden. [39]
Since 2025,McKee has attracted attention for his social media activity,particularly on the short-form platform TikTok where he has posted several short videos which have gone viral. [40] According to Politico ,McKee is one of several "very-online" influencer Labour MPs from the 2024 parliamentary intake who have caused controversy in the upper ranks of the Labour Party for their heavy use of social media,which has led to concerns around the enforcement of message discipline. [41]
