David Melvyn Linden (born 14 May 1990) 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 served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Glasgow East 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 ...

from the

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 ...

General Election until May 2024. He served as the SNP Spokesperson for Work and Pensions from 2021 to 2022 and the Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 2020 to 2021.

Early life and education

David Linden was born on 14 May 1990 in

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 ...

, Scotland. He grew up in

Cranhill Cranhill is an inner city district and housing scheme in the north east of Glasgow, Scotland. Cranhill was developed from public funding in the early 1950s and was originally, chiefly composed of four-storey tenement blocks surrounding a patc ...

and

Garrowhill Garrowhill ( or , )
is a residential area within the wi ...

, and was educated at Milncroft Primary School, Garrowhill Primary School and then

Bannerman High School Bannerman High School is a state secondary school in the Baillieston suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is a non-denominational, co-educational, comprehensive school within the Glasgow City Council local education authority. The school teaches pup ...

Baillieston Baillieston () is a working class suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about east of the city centre. It also gives its name to Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council and forms part of the Glasgow East constituency of the UK Parliament. Geographical ...

. He left school at the age of 16 and undertook an apprenticeship in Business Administration 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 ...

. He worked for Glasgow Credit Union for two years.

Political career

Linden was the national convenor for the youth wing of the

, SNP Youth and campaigned for

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

in the 2014 independence referendum. Linden worked as a researcher for John Mason MSP. Between 2015 and 2017, he worked as a parliamentary assistant for

Alison Thewliss Alison Emily Thewliss (born 13 September 1982) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from the May 2015 general election until 2024. Before being elected to Westminster, Thewl ...

, MP for Glasgow Central. At the 2017 general election, Linden was elected as MP for

with 38.8% of the vote and a majority of 75 votes. Linden voted for the United Kingdom to remain within the EU during the

2016 UK EU 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 ...

. In the indicative votes on 27 March 2019, he voted for a referendum on a Brexit withdrawal agreement. At the 2019 general election, Linden was re-elected as MP for Glasgow East with an increased vote share of 47.7% and an increased majority of 5,566. During his time in Parliament, Linden chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Premature and Sick Babies as well as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nutrition for Growth. In November 2020, Linden was reprimanded for using taxpayer's money to send 200 birthday cards to children turning 18, using prepaid envelopes embossed with a Westminster logo. A parliamentary inquiry said he had used them to promote himself and ordered him to pay back £147.34 in postage. Linden admitted he had breached the parliamentary code of conduct. In November 2021, the

defence secretary A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, Ben Wallace, accused a delegation of MPs, including Linden, of conduct that "put military personnel in a difficult position" after drinking in an airport departure lounge and once in the air during a visit to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

-based soldiers. They were also accused of being impolite to airport staff. An SNP spokesman denied the allegations, describing them as "false". In October 2023, Linden was re-selected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow 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 ...

. He was defeated in his bid for re-election, and lost his seat to John Grady of the Labour Party.

Personal life

Linden is the father to two children with his first wife, Roslyn, whom he married in 2012. As of September 2021, Linden is in a relationship with Labour Party MP

Cat Smith Catherine Jane Smith (born 16 June 1985) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2015, representing Lancaster and Wyre since 2024 after her former constituency, Lancaster and Fleetwood, was a ...

. In his spare time, Linden enjoys fishing, and is a fan of Airdrieonians Football Club.

References

External links

Profile
on SNP website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Linden, David 1990 births Living people People from Cranhill Scottish National Party MPs UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–2024 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Politicians from Glasgow