Anne McLaughlin (born 8 March 1966) is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

(SNP) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Glasgow North East Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Palace of Westminster, Westminster). It was first contested at the 2005 United Kingdom general ...

from

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, and previously from

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 ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. She has been SNP Spokesperson for International Development since 2023.

Early life and education

Anne McLaughlin was born on 8 March 1966 in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. She attended Port Glasgow High School until 1984, then attended the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. She joined the SNP after the 1988 Govan by-election.

Political career

At the

2003 Scottish Parliament election The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Government, Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Sco ...

, McLaughlin stood as the SNP candidate in Glasgow Rutherglen, coming third with 14.9% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MSP

Janis Hughes Janis Hughes (born 1 May 1958) is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Rutherglen constituency from 1999 to 2007. In the inaugural election to the parliament in 1999, Hughes won a 25% ...

and the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

candidate

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

. McLaughlin stood in Glasgow Springburn at the

2007 Scottish Parliament election The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...

, coming second with 28% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MSP

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

. McLaughlin became a regional member of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

for

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

on 6 February 2009, following the death of Bashir Ahmad, as the next person on the SNP's regional list. Before this she was employed as a researcher for the MSP

Bob Doris Robert Joseph "Bob" Doris (born 11 May 1973) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, having p ...

. She has championed the cause of English language skills in Glasgow school-children. She was a member of the Public Audit and Public Petitions

parliamentary committees A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

(2009–2011). She stood in Glasgow Provan at the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...

, coming second with 34.7% of the vote behind the Labour candidate Paul Martin.

Parliamentary career

McLaughlin stood in Glasgow Rutherglen at the 2001 general election, coming second with 14.1% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP

Tommy McAvoy Thomas McLaughlin McAvoy, Baron McAvoy, (14 December 1943 – 8 March 2024) was a British Labour and Co-operative politician serving as a life peer in the House of Lords from 2010 until his death in 2024. He served as Member of Parliament ...

. In June 2011 she was selected as the SNP candidate at the 2011 Inverclyde by-election. At the election, McLaughlin came second with 33% of the vote behind the Labour candidate

Iain McKenzie Iain McKenzie (born 4 April 1959) is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who was formerly the Member of Parliament for Inverclyde. He was elected at the June 2011 by-election, and stood unsuccessfully for re-election in the 2015 general elec ...

. At the 2015 general election, McLaughlin was elected to Parliament as MP for

with 58.1% of the vote and a majority of 9,222. At the snap 2017 general election, McLaughlin was defeated, coming second with 42.2% of the vote behind the Labour candidate

Paul Sweeney Paul John Sweeney FIES ; born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he currently serves as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region in the 6th Scottish Parliame ...

. McLaughlin regained her seat of Glasgow North East at the 2019 general election, winning with 46.9% of the vote and a majority of 2,548. In June 2024, McLaughlin was reselected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow North East at the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. However, she was not re-elected, and lost to the Labour Party candidate

Maureen Burke Maureen Burke (born September 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North East since 2024. She was a Glasgow City Councillor, until her resignation on 2 September 2024. Political c ...

Personal Life

Anne lives in

Dennistoun Dennistoun () is a mostly residential district in Glasgow, Scotland, located north of the River Clyde and in the city's Glasgow#East End, east end, about east of the city centre. Since 2017 it has formed the core of a Dennistoun (ward), Dennist ...

. She has been in a long-term relationship with

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

Councillor Graham Campbell.

References

External links

*
Profile
at SNP website *; *''Blogs''
indygal goes to holyroodindygal in europeindygalpersonal website relating to MSP position
in use between 2009 and 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Anne 1966 births Living people Springburn Politicians from Greenock Scottish women bloggers Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish bloggers Scottish National Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2019–2024 Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Alumni of the University of Glasgow Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Female members of the Scottish Parliament