Maurice Charles Golden (born 12 January 1980) is a

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 30 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Par ...

politician. He has been 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 North East Scotland region since the May

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, ...

, after having previously been elected in

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 ...

for West Scotland. Golden was the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture until May 2021. Golden was also previously Chief Whip and Business Manager.

Early life and education

Golden attended Gowriehill Primary School, the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

and the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee is a public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a university college in 1881 with a donation from the prominent Baxter family of textile manufacturers. The institution was, for most of its ...

from 1997 until 2001, and graduated with an MA (Honours) degree in Economics before going on to complete an MPhil in urban and

cultural history Cultural history records and interprets past events involving human beings through the social, cultural, and political milieu of or relating to the arts and manners that a group favors. Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897) helped found cultural history ...

and an LLM in

Environmental Law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

. In 2010, Golden received qualification from the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management. Golden has experience in the waste and energy sectors, previously working for Ofgem and Consumer Focus as well as with Local Authorities advising on kerbside collections. He led the Circular Economy Programme for Zero Waste Scotland after 2011.

Political career

Golden has been a member of the Conservative Party since 1998. Golden stood for the Local Authority Elections in Dundee in Sidlaw West in 2002. He worked as a Campaign Manager for Douglas Taylor in the Perth and North Perthshire constituency in 2005. He stood for 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'. ...

in 2007 as the Conservative candidate for Central Fife. He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate in the Glenrothes by-election for the Westminster Parliament in 2008, securing third place as Labour retained the seat. Two years later Golden secured second place in

Central Ayrshire Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

with 8,934 votes after standing in the 2010 UK General Election. In 2011, Golden stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in the Cunninghame North constituency. In 2016, Golden stood for the

as the Conservative candidate for Clydebank and Milngavie where he trebled the vote although came third, then was elected from the West Scotland regional list. Golden was the Chief Whip and Business Manager, and Spokesperson for the Low Carbon Economy in the Parliament. At the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, he was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland region. Maurice has pushed for a Private members' bill to tackle dog theft. The official consultation is expected to begin in 2022.

Personal life

In 2016, Golden was made a fellow of the

Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Maurice 1980 births Living people Alumni of the University of Dundee Place of birth missing (living people) Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish Conservative parliamentary candidates