Alexander Neil is a Scottish politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing from 2012 to 2014 and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice,Communities and Pensioners' Rights from 2014 to 2016. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),he was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 2011 until his retirement in 2021.
Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the UK House of Commons,located in central Scotland within the North Lanarkshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.
Karen Whitefield is a Scottish Labour politician. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 1999 to 2011.
The Monklands East by-election was held on 30 June 1994,following the death of the Leader of the Labour Party John Smith,Member of Parliament (MP) for Monklands East in Scotland,on 12 May.
Salsburgh is a semi-rural former coal mining village in greenbelt farmland within the district of North Lanarkshire,Scotland. The closest major towns to the village are Shotts,three miles southeast,and Airdrie three miles northwest.
Scottish Asian is a term defined within the 2011 Scottish census as including people of Bangladeshi,Chinese,Indian,Pakistani or other Asian ancestry resident in Scotland. Their parents or grandparents are normally Asian immigrants. It can also refer to people who are of dual Scottish and Asian ancestry. It combines Asian ethnic background with Scottish national identity.
Anne McLaughlin is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North East since 2019,and previously from 2015 to 2017. She has been SNP Spokesperson for International Development since 2023.
Pamela Nash is a British Labour Party politician,who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Airdrie and Shotts between 2010 and 2015. She is currently the Chief Executive of Scotland in Union,a campaign group launched in March 2015 to help keep Scotland within the United Kingdom. During her time in Parliament,she was the youngest MP in the House of Commons.
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland,following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.
Ian Blackford is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross,Skye and Lochaber since 2015.
Philippa Whitford is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and a breast surgeon. Originally from Northern Ireland,she was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Ayrshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017 and 2019. She previously served as the SNP Spokesperson for Scotland from December 2022 to September 2023.
Neil Charles Gray is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery,Health and Social Care since 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Airdrie &Shotts since 2021. Gray previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the equivalent Westminster seat from 2015 to 2021. He served as Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy,Fair Work and Energy from 2023 to 2024,and Minister for Culture,Europe and International Development from 2022 to 2023.
Alison Emily Thewliss is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central since the May 2015 general election.
Kirsten Frances Oswald is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician first elected as the Member of the UK Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015;she was unseated at the 2017 snap election but subsequently re-elected at the 2019 election. She served as the deputy leader of the SNP parliamentary party from 2020 to 2022.
Patricia Gibson is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as SNP Attorney General Spokesperson since September 2023. She served as the SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Housing,Communities and Local Government since 2021 to 2022. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Ayrshire and Arran since winning the seat at the 2015 general election.
Richard Leonard is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP),as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland region,since 2016. He ideologically identifies as a socialist,democrat and internationalist.
Steven Bonnar is a Scottish National Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Coatbridge,Chryston and Bellshill since 2019. He has been SNP Environment,Farming,Agriculture and Rural Affairs spokesperson since 2023.
The 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election was held in the UK parliament constituency of Airdrie and Shotts following the resignation of the sitting member (MP),Neil Gray,to run for the corresponding seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. This was necessitated by Scottish National Party (SNP) rules banning its members from sitting as an MSP and an MP at the same time. It took place on 13 May 2021,a week after the Scottish Parliament elections,to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk.
Pam Duncan-Glancy is a Scottish Labour politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since May 2021. She is the first permanent wheelchair user elected to the Scottish Parliament.
