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Elaine Smith (Scottish politician)

Elaine Smith
Smith in 2011
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
In office
11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016
Serving with John Scott
Presiding OfficerTricia Marwick
Preceded byTrish Godman
Succeeded byLinda Fabiani
Parliamentary offices
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
5 May 2016 – 5 May 2021
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Coatbridge and Chryston
In office
6 May 1999 – 23 March 2016
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byFulton MacGregor
Scottish Labour portfolios
2017–2019Shadow Minister for the Eradication of Poverty and Inequality
2019–2021Shadow Minister for Parliamentary Business
2020–2021Shadow Minister for the Eradication of Poverty and Inequality
Personal details
Born
Elaine Agnes Smith

(1963-05-05) 5 May 1963 (age 61)
Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Political partyScottish Labour
Other political
affiliations		Campaign for Socialism
SpouseVann Smith
Children1 son
WebsiteElaine Smith MSP official biography

Elaine Agnes Smith (born 5 May 1963) 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.

Early life and career

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Smith was born in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire and attended St Patrick's School, a local co-educational Roman Catholic school. She studied Economics and Politics at Glasgow College and then trained as a Modern Studies and Economics teacher at St Andrews College, a Catholic teacher-training institution in Glasgow. She worked as a secondary school teacher before becoming a local government officer, also gaining a Diploma in Public Sector Management.[1]

Political career

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Smith was elected as a Scottish Labour MSP for her local constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, with a majority of 10,404. She subsequently went on to be returned in 2003, 2007 and 2011, with majorities of 8,571, 4,510 and 2,741 respectively. On 11 May 2011, she was elected to serve as one of two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament.

In 2013, Smith voiced her opposition to same-sex marriage, claiming at a session of the Equal Opportunities Committee that its introduction could lead to polygamy.[2] Smith was one of three Labour MSPs that voted against the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014.[3]

Smith supported Jeremy Corbyn during both the 2015 and 2016 Labour Party leadership elections.[4][5] During the 2016 European Union membership referendum, she backed Britain leaving the European Union, contrary to the position of the Labour Party.[6]

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Smith lost her seat by 3,779 votes after watching her vote share drop by 17.6%.[7] She gained a list seat as one of seven additional members for the Central Scotland region and was returned for the new session. Following the retirement of Tricia Marwick, she attempted to be elected Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. However, she was defeated by Ken Macintosh, a fellow Labour MSP and one of the additional members for the West Scotland region.[8] After standing down as a Deputy Presiding Officer, she became a member of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.[9]

Smith supported Richard Leonard in the 2017 Scottish Labour Party leadership election.[10] Following Leonard's victory, she was appointed to his frontbench and was given the new role of Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Eradication of Poverty and Inequality. Her appointment was controversial because of her record of opposing same-sex marriage.[11]

In February 2018, Smith invited anti-abortion academic Professor Priscilla K. Coleman to speak at an event in the Scottish Parliament discussing what Coleman believes is the harmful impact of abortion on mental health. After facing criticism from Scottish Labour colleagues, Smith withdrew the invitation, citing a "diary clash".[12] In response to the backlash, Richard Leonard said "It has been made clear to Elaine that she needs to comply with the party’s policy on issues like a woman’s right to choose."[13]

In September 2019, Smith announced she would be standing down at the next Scottish Parliament election on health grounds.[14] Later that month, she became Scottish Labour Parliamentary Business Manager, replacing Neil Findlay.[15]

Smith nominated Monica Lennon in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election.[16] She stood down at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[17]

Personal life

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Smith is a member of the trade unions Unite the Union, formerly Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), and General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC).[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Personal Information". parliament.scot. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Polygamy could follow gay marriage, warns MSP". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Scotland's same sex marriage bill: How MSPs voted". BBC News. 20 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ Alexander, James (13 August 2015). "Jeremy Corbyn prepares for his Scottish tour". The National. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  5. ^ MSP, Elaine Smith (1 July 2016). "Happy to add my name to this! #KeepCorbyn". @elainesmithmsp. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Labour MSP breaks ranks to make 'left-wing' case for Brexit". STV News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Scotland election 2016: Coatbridge and Chryston". BBC News. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  8. ^ Brooks, Libby (12 May 2016). "Ken Macintosh elected as presiding officer of Scottish parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Elaine Smith". parliament.scot. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  10. ^ MSP, Elaine Smith (9 September 2017). "Delighted to endorse my Central Scotland colleague @LabourRichard to be the next leader of @scottishlabour. He's the candidate #ForTheMany". @elainesmithmsp. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Scottish Labour leader shrugs off criticism over equality spokesperson who opposes gay equality". PinkNews. 9 January 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  12. ^ Brooks, Libby (23 February 2018). "Scottish Labour MSP withdraws invitation to US academic". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Interview: Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  14. ^ Tonner, Judith (3 September 2019). "Central Scotland MSP to stand down from Scottish Parliament before next election". dailyrecord. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Scottish Labour reshuffle as Sarah Boyack returns to frontline politics". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Scottish Leadership Election 2021 – Nominations". Scottish Labour. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Holyrood 2021 election: Which MSPs are standing down?". BBC News. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
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Scottish Parliament
New parliament
 Member of the Scottish Parliament for Coatbridge and Chryston
1999–2016 		Succeeded by