Carol Ann "Annie" Wells (born 24 February 1972) is a British politician of the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

, who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party to

Jackson Carlaw David Jackson Carlaw (born 12 April 1959) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2019 to 2020. He previously served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019. He has b ...

in 2020. She has served as 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

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

region since

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. The Deputy Leadership position was abolished on 12 August 2020, shortly after Douglas Ross was appointed Scottish Conservative Leader.

Early life and career

Hailing from Springburn, Wells worked as a retail manager for

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

in various locations throughout

for the 12 years leading up to her election.

Political career

Wells became involved in politics during the

2014 Scottish Independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" ...

by joining the Better Together campaign and stood as the

Scottish Conservative The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

candidate in Glasgow North East in the 2015 general election, finishing third with 4.7% of the vote. She also unsuccessfully contested the Glasgow Provan constituency at 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 election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electio ...

, finishing third with 8.6% of the vote, but was elected via the

regional list. Shortly after her election, Wells was made Scottish Conservative Spokesperson for Welfare Reform and Equalities. She sits on the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Scottish Parliament. In late 2018, Wells was banned from Holyrood for leaking an embargoed committee report to the press. After a complaint was made that the MSP had "sought political advantage" by speaking out about prisoner voting before a report had been published, the parliament's standards committee unanimously ruled that Wells had breached the code of conduct for MSPs. Wells served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, alongside

Liam Kerr Liam Kerr (born 23 January 1975) is a British politician of the Scottish Conservative Party, who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2019 to 2020 and as the Scottish Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Just ...

, under

. However, they both were dismissed and the post was abolished when Douglas Ross became leader in August 2020. On 12 January 2022, Wells called for

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the

Westminster lockdown parties controversy Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gath ...

along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs. In July 2022, she endorsed

Penny Mordaunt Penelope Mary Mordaunt (; born 4 March 1973) is a British politician who has been Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council since September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) ...

in the Conservative Party leadership election.

Personal life

Wells is a single mother and is a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

Notes

References

External links

* * 1972 births Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Politicians from Glasgow People from Springburn Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Female members of the Scottish Parliament Lesbian politicians LGBT members of the Scottish Parliament Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates Scottish LGBT politicians 21st-century LGBT people {{MSP-stub