Ross Greer

Last updated

Ross Greer
MSP
Ross Greer, October 2022.jpg
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Personal details
Born
Ross John Greer

(1994-06-01) 1 June 1994 (age 30)
Dunbartonshire, Scotland
Political party Scottish Greens
Other political
affiliations		 Yes Scotland
(2012–2014)
Scottish Youth Parliament
(2011–2013)
Residence(s) Milngavie, Scotland
Education Bearsden Academy
University of Strathclyde (attended)
OccupationPolitician

Ross John Greer (born 1 June 1994[ citation needed ]) is a Scottish politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Greens, he was the youngest MSP elected in the 2016 election.

Contents

Early life and career

Greer was educated at Bearsden Academy, leaving in 2012. [1] [2] Greer was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, representing the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency 2011–13. [3] Greer joined the Scottish Greens at the age of 15. [4] He took part in the Debating Matters competition in 2012, where he reached the national final. [5]

Greer studied politics and psychology "for a time" at Strathclyde University, but abandoned his studies in December 2012 after being recruited by Yes Scotland to be their communities co-ordinator for the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum. [6] Following the referendum, Greer was employed by the Scottish Greens in a role involving campaigns communications and fundraising. [7]

Political career

Ross Greer in 2016 Official Portrait of Ross Greer MSP.jpg
Ross Greer in 2016

Greer stood as the Scottish Green candidate in the East Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 general election, securing 5th place with 804 votes (1.5%). [4] He became the Scottish Greens' party spokesman on Europe and external affairs. [7] In March 2015, the Scottish Greens announced Greer had been selected as the lead candidate for their West Scotland regional list, following a ballot of their members. [8]

Ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Greer was critical that the general level of engagement with 16 and 17-year-olds as first-time voters had been below what was seen in the referendum. [9] On 6 May 2016, he was elected with 17,218 votes (5.3%) as an additional member for the West Scotland region. Elected at the age of 21 years old, he became Scotland's youngest MSP. [10] Before Greer was elected, the youngest MSP had previously been Labour's Mark Griffin, who was 25 years old when he was first elected in 2011. [1] On 22 May, he was appointed the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for International Development and External Affairs, Education and Skills, and Culture and Media. [11]

Like his Green colleagues, Greer is opposed to an independent Scotland joining NATO. He told the Daily Record : [12]

NATO is a 'first strike' nuclear alliance, meaning it claims the right to launch its weapons of mass slaughter against other countries without having been attacked first. There can never, ever be justification for murdering millions of innocent people like that. For this reason alone, never mind NATO's history of provoking rather than avoiding conflict, the Scottish Greens are clear that an independent Scotland should follow Ireland's lead and stay out. Instead, we should immediately sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which would not only make the Trident submarines at Faslane illegal and force their removal, it would also show that we refuse to let others use weapons of mass destruction on our behalf.

Greer currently serves as the co-chair of the Scottish Greens Executive Committee. [13]

Controversy

In 2019, Greer was strongly criticised for having posted a tweet, while a secondary school student, in June 2012 which read "I'm not exaggerating when I say nothing would thrill me more than for Buckingham Palace to burn to the ground." [14]

On 25 January 2019, Greer posted a tweet calling Winston Churchill "a white supremacist mass murderer." He later went on Good Morning Britain and Politics Live and was challenged on his views. [15] [16] This was not the first time Greer has been criticised for his comments about the Second World War; a few years prior he was criticised in The Sun after tweeting that "Imperial Britain was happy to live with Hitler" in reference to the policy of Appeasement. [14]

Personal life

Greer is a member of the Church of Scotland. [17]

Greer is bisexual and identifies as queer, as confirmed during a Scottish Parliament debate about his opposition to the appointment of Kate Forbes as Deputy First Minister of Scotland. [18] [19] [20]

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 held two ministerial posts in the first Yousaf government following a power-sharing agreement with the SNP from August 2021 until the end of the Bute House Agreement in April 2024, marking the first time Green Party politicians formed part of a government in the UK.

<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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleanor Scott</span> Scottish politician and medical doctor

Eleanor Roberta Scott is a Scottish politician and physician. She was Scottish Greens Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands from 2003–2007, then female co-convener of the party from 2008–2011 with Patrick Harvie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Paterson</span> Scottish politician (born 1942)

Gilbert Martin Paterson is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician, who served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Clydebank and Milngavie, from 2011 to 2021. Previously he had been an MSP for the West of Scotland region, having been elected on 3 May 2007. From 1999 to 2003 he was an MSP for Central Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Harvie</span> Co-Leader of the Scottish Green Party

Patrick Harvie is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights from 2021 to 2024. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and is one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as a government minister. Harvie has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2003.

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

Dumbarton is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering parts of the council areas of Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

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

Strathkelvin and Bearsden is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects 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">John Wilson (Scottish Green politician)</span>

John Gordon Wilson is a Scottish politician. He was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2007 until 2016. He sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member and then as an independent after 2014. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green Party candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election and then as an independent candidate in the 2017 Scottish local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Scottish Parliament election</span> General Election held in Scotland on 6 May 2021

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 in Wales, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.

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

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">4th Scottish Parliament</span> Fourth session of Scottish parliament

This is a list of members (MSPs) returned to the fourth Scottish Parliament at the 2011 general election. Of the 129 MSPs, 73 were elected from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members being returned from eight regions, each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Finnie</span> Scottish politician (born 1956)

John Bradford Finnie is a Scottish Greens politician. He was the Green Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member from 2011 to 2012 then as an independent from 2012 to 2016.

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

Mark Griffin 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.

<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">Annie Wells (politician)</span> Scottish Conservative politician

Carol Ann "Annie" Wells is a British politician of the Scottish Conservatives, who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party to Jackson Carlaw in 2020. She has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016.

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

Lorna Slater is a Scots-Canadian politician in Scotland, who served as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government from 2021 to 2024. She has been co-leader of the Scottish Greens, alongside Patrick Harvie, since 2019, and was one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as government ministers.

All for Unity was a political and electoral alliance in Scotland. Founded in July 2020 by George Galloway, it was a British unionist party which opposed Scottish independence. It fielded candidates at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election but won no seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pam Gosal</span> Scottish Conservative politician

Permjit Gosal is a Scottish Conservative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for West Scotland since May 2021. She is one of the first women of colour elected to the Scottish parliament, alongside Kaukab Stewart, and is also the first woman of Indian descent and Sikh to serve as an elected member of the Scottish Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bute House Agreement</span> Power-sharing agreement in the Scottish government

The Bute House Agreement, officially the Cooperation Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group was a power-sharing agreement between the Scottish National Party (SNP) government and the Scottish Greens which was agreed in August 2021 to support the Third Sturgeon government and then was reaffirmed to support the First Yousaf government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Scottish Greens</span> Aspect of Scottish political history

The Scottish Greens is a centre-left to left-wing green political party in Scotland that was founded in 1990.

References

  1. 1 2 Davidson, Jenni (6 May 2016). "Youngest ever MSP elected for the Scottish Greens". Holyrood .
  2. ↑ "Greer is unveiled as the Green Party's Westminster hope". Bearsden & Milngavie Herald. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Bowden, George (6 May 2016). "Scottish Election Results: Greens' Ross Greer Becomes Youngest MSP". The Huffington Post . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 Coutts, Eva (6 May 2016). "Holyrood 2016: Greens' Ross Greer, 21, becomes youngest MSP". The Scotsman . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "People: Ross Greer". www.debatingmatters.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Anon. (6 May 2016). "Election 2016: Scottish Green Ross Greer elected youngest ever MSP at 21 on West of Scotland list". The Herald . Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. 1 2 Greer, Ross. "LinkedIn profile of Ross Greer". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Scottish Greens regional list candidates". Holyrood . 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Brooks, Libby (3 May 2016). "Don't patronise us, Scottish teenagers tell politicians bidding for their votes". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Greens' Ross Greer becomes youngest MSP". BBC News . 6 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Scottish Greens announce portfolios of new Holyrood group". HeraldScotland. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  12. ↑ McCall, Chris (10 February 2021). "Independent Scotland should delay NATO membership until nuclear weapons removed". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Scottish Greens cancel conference because of coronavirus as delay phase nears". The Herald. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Right-wing media are REALLY unhappy with Ross Greer over Churchill tweet". The National. 30 January 2019.
  15. ↑ Record Reporter (29 January 2019). "Piers Morgan branded 'snowflake' by Ross Greer during live TV tantrum". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "MSP Ross Greer brands Churchill 'mass murderer'". BBC News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  17. ↑ Brooks, Libby (22 May 2019). "Anger as Church of Scotland decides not to divest from fossil fuels". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  18. ↑ Carrell, Severin; Brooks, Libby (9 May 2024). "Kate Forbes elected Scotland deputy first minister despite Green opposition". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/scottishgreens/status/1788570435753300037 [ bare URL ]
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/Ross_Greer/status/1788998551986454846
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.