Colin Smyth (born November 1972) is a Scottish politician who has been a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The add ...

(MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2016. A member of

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

, he served as its general secretary from 2008 to 2012.

Early life and career

Smyth was born in 1972. He was raised in Dumfries, where he attended

Maxwelltown High School Maxwelltown High School was a state funded, six-year comprehensive secondary school in the Lochside area of Dumfries, Scotland. Founded in 1971, Maxwelltown High School was the most recently founded secondary school in Dumfries and Galloway, befo ...

. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a modern studies teacher.

Political career

Smyth became a Labour party organiser in 2003. In 2008, he was appointed general secretary of the Scottish Labour Party, succeeding Lesley Quinn. In September 2012, Scottish Labour announced that Smyth would step down from the position at the party's conference in the following month. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, Smyth was elected to

Dumfries and Galloway Council Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcu ...

, representing the Nith Ward. He was re-elected to this position in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. In October 2013, a Labour/SNP coalition was formed on Dumfries and Galloway Council when Smyth was appointed Chair of the Planning, Housing and Environment Committee. In 2016, Smyth was elected to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...

, as an additional member representing the South Scotland region. He served as Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity under

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 Scotlan ...

from 2017 to 2021. Smyth nominated

Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016, having been Member of Parlia ...

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 Party, who had led the party since 2017. Two candidates were nominated, Anas Sarwar and Moni ...

. After the leadership election, Sarwar appointed Smyth as Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Constitution, Europe and External Affairs.

Personal life

Smyth is married to Victoria, an English teacher. Together they have two daughters, Hannah and Evie. He is partly of

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

descent.

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Scottish Labour councillors Labour MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 {{MSP-stub