Elaine Agnes Smith (born 5 May 1963) is a former

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

politician who served as a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for the Central Scotland region from

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

until she stood down at the 2021 election. She was previously MSP for the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

until

Early life and career

Smith was born in

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...

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.

Political career

Smith was elected as a

MSP for her local constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston in the

1999 Scottish Parliament election The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parlia ...

, with a majority of 10,404. She subsequently went on to be returned in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, 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. Smith was one of three Labour MSPs that voted against the

Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 5) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which allows same-sex couples to marry in Scotland since 16 December 2014. The bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2013 b ...

. Smith supported

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

during both the

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and 2016 Labour Party leadership elections. During the

2016 European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, she backed Britain leaving the European Union, contrary to the position of the Labour Party. In the

2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth Next Scottish Parliament election, election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It ...

, Smith lost her seat by 3,779 votes after watching her vote share drop by 17.6%. 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 Patricia Marwick (née Lee; born 5 November 1953) is a Scottish politician who served as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2011 to 2016. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2016. Elected as a member of ...

, she attempted to be elected

Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament (, ) is the presiding officer and speaker of the Scottish Parliament. The office of presiding officer was established by the Scotland Act 1998, and the elected presiding officer is a member of t ...

. However, she was defeated by

Ken Macintosh Kenneth Donald Macintosh (born 15 January 1962) 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 Pr ...

, a fellow Labour MSP and one of the additional members for the West Scotland region. After standing down as a Deputy Presiding Officer, she became a member of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee. Smith supported

Richard Leonard Richard Leonard (born January 1962) 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 ...

in the 2017 Scottish Labour Party leadership election. 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. In February 2018, Smith invited

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

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

Neil Findlay Neil Findlay (born 6 March 1969) is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Lothian from 2011 to 2021. A member of Scottish Labour, he was previously a councillor in West Lothian from 2003 to 2012. Early li ...

. Smith nominated

Monica Lennon Monica Lennon (' Ward; born 7 January 1981) 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 ...

in the

2021 Scottish Labour leadership election The 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election was triggered on 14 January 2021 by the resignation of Richard Leonard as leader of the Scottish Labour, Scottish Labour Party, who had led the party 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election, since ...

. She stood down at the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

Personal life

Smith is a member of the trade unions

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...

, formerly

Transport and General Workers' Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general union, general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland—where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU)—with 900 ...

(TGWU), and

General Teaching Council for Scotland The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTC Scotland) () is a fee based registered charity and the world's first independent registration and regulation body for teaching. The current Chief Executive and Registrar is Pauline Stephen. The GTC Sc ...

(GTC).

References

External links

*
Elaine Smith profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Elaine 1963 births Living people People from Coatbridge European democratic socialists Labour MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Female members of the Scottish Parliament 20th-century Scottish women politicians Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament Politicians from North Lanarkshire Scottish schoolteachers