Mark Griffin (politician)

Last updated

Mark Griffin
MSP
Mark-Griffin-MSP-closeup.jpg
Griffin in 2011
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
5 May 2011
Personal details
Born (1985-10-19) 19 October 1985 (age 38)
Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Political party Scottish Labour
Residence(s)Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire
Alma mater University of Strathclyde (2003–07)
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Branch/serviceFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Unit Territorial Army

Mark Griffin (born 19 October 1985) is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2011. He is married to Stephanie and has three children.

Contents

Early life and career

Raised in Kilsyth, he attended St Patrick's Primary School and then St. Maurice's High School in Cumbernauld, before studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, where he graduated with a BEng (Hons) degree, in 2007. Griffin is a trained Mechanical Engineer and prior to his election to North Lanarkshire Council in 2008, he was a serving soldier in the British Territorial Army (TA). [1]

Political career

Having served as a North Lanarkshire Councillor from 2008 until 2012 (serving the multi-member Kilsyth ward), Griffin was elected on the Central Scotland regional list at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. [2]

In May 2012, Griffin was appointed Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Sport. He held the role until July 2013, when he became Shadow Minister for Transport and Veterans.[ citation needed ] When Jim Murphy was elected Scottish Labour Party leader in December 2014, Griffin was appointed as Shadow Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages, covering school education, qualifications, science, HM Inspectorate of Education, the Scottish Qualifications Authority and languages.[ citation needed ]

Upon his election at the age of 25, Griffin became the youngest Member of the Scottish Parliament since its establishment in 1999. [3] Following the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, this record was taken by 21-year-old Ross Greer, who was elected for the Scottish Green Party. [4]

Griffin became one of the first MSPs elected in 2011 to put forward plans for a Members Bill. Through his work with the Cross Party Group on Deafness, he put the British Sign Language (BSL) (Scotland) Bill through Parliament. The Bill was supported in principle by the Scottish Government in late 2014 and passed into law in September 2015. [5] [6]

In January 2014, Griffin was chosen as the Scottish Labour Party candidate for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency seat at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. However, the seat was held by the Scottish National Party's Jamie Hepburn and Griffin was returned again on the Central Scotland regional list. [7]

In September 2020, Griffin quit as Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Social Security and became the fourth MSP to call for Richard Leonard to resign as Scottish Labour leader, saying "Your personal approval ratings are extremely concerning; less than half of the voting public know who you are, a majority of those who do have a negative opinion of your leadership and a majority of Scottish Labour voters have a negative opinion of your leadership. I do not have confidence in your ability, after three years in post, to turn the situation around. I hope you will consider resigning from your position as leader in the best interests of the Scottish Labour Party." [8]

Griffin nominated Anas Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election. [9] He currently services as Labour's spokesperson for Local Government and Housing in the Scottish Parliament. [10]

Griffin backed the UK Government’s decision to introduce means-testing for the Winter Fuel Payment, voting in the Scottish Parliament against calls to reverse the decision. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Macintosh</span> Scottish Independent politician

Kenneth Donald Macintosh is a Scottish politician who served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a member of Scottish Labour, he suspended his party membership on becoming Presiding Officer. Macintosh was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2021, representing the Eastwood constituency from 1999 to 2016, and then the West Scotland region from 2016 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Baillie</span> Scottish Labour politician

Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020. She has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Dumbarton constituency since 1999. She also served as acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2017 and again in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)</span> Constituency of the Scottish Parliament

Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

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

Coatbridge and Chryston is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathie Craigie</span> Scottish politician (born 1954)

Cathie Craigie is a former Scottish Labour politician who served as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency from 1999 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Smith (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour politician

Elaine Agnes Smith is a former Scottish Labour politician who served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2016 until she stood down at the 2021 election. She was previously MSP for the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency from 1999 until 2016.

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

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also 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.

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

East Kilbride is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of South Lanarkshire. 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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamilton North and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)</span> Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament

Hamilton North and Bellshill was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It was also one of ten constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elected seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

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

Motherwell and Wishaw is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Baker</span> Scottish Labour politician (born 1971)

Claire Josephine Baker is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kelly (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour Co-op politician

James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021, having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.

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

Uddingston and Bellshill is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret McCulloch</span> Scottish Labour politician

Margaret McCulloch is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region 2011–2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Rowley</span> Former Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017 and acting leader of the party from August to November 2017. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2014, firstly for the Cowdenbeath constituency and the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2016. He has been described as being on the political left of the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart McDonald (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician and Member of Parliament

Stuart Campbell McDonald is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency since 2015. A member of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, he previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Justice and Immigration from 2022 to 2023. He served as the SNP Shadow Home Secretary from 2021 to 2022. He was the SNP Spokesperson on Immigration, Asylum and Border Control from 2015 to 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Johnson (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour politician

Daniel Guy Johnson is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Southern constituency since 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monica Lennon</span> Scottish Labour politician

Monica Lennon is a Scottish politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, she has served in various roles on the Scottish Labour front bench. She was the Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Health and Sport from 2018 to 2021, Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work from March 2021 to June 2021 and Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Net Zero, Energy and Transport from June 2021 to November 2021. She was a candidate in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election and currently serves on the Scottish Parliament's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Smyth</span> Scottish Labour politician

Colin Smyth is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2016. A member of Scottish Labour, he served as its general secretary from 2008 to 2012.

References

  1. Profile Archived 5 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine , cumbernauld-media.com; accessed 15 May 2016.
  2. Scottish Election 2011: Seven MSPs on Central Scotland list, acadvertiser.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2016.
  3. Local Headlines, KilsythChronicle.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2016.
  4. Ross Greer profile, bbc.co.uk; accessed 15 May 2016.
  5. The Scottish Parliament - Current Members - Mark Griffin, scottish.parliament.uk; accessed 15 May 2016.
  6. Office, Committee (7 December 2017). "British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. "Cumbernauld and Kilsyth - Scottish Parliament constituency - Election 2016" . Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  8. Hutcheon, Paul (2 September 2020). "Fourth Labour MSP calls on party leader Richard Leonard to quit". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. "Scottish Leadership Election 2021 - Nominations". Scottish Labour. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. "At Holyrood - Scottish Labour". scottishlabour.org.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  11. "How every MSP voted as Holyrood rejected the UK's Winter Fuel Payment cut". The National. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.