Gillian Audrey Mackay (born 1991) is a
Scottish Green politician who 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 ad ...
(MSP) for the
Central Scotland region since the
2021 Scottish Parliament election
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...
. She is the first Green MSP ever to be elected in Central Scotland.
Raised in
Grangemouth
Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...
, she is a graduate in marine biodiversity and biotechnology from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
. She has the sensory disorder
Ménière's disease
Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initial ...
.
Political career
Mackay first entered politics with an internship with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood.
She received the internship through a program which aimed to support disabled people in politics.
She subsequently went on to become a Regional Campaign Support Officer for the
Lothian
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
region.
Prior to being 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 Holyro ...
, Mackay was an unsuccessful candidate in the
Linlithgow and East Falkirk
Linlithgow and East Falkirk is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created for use in the 2005 general election. It replaced most of Falkirk East and Linlithgow.
The constituency covers the e ...
constituency in the
2019 UK general election, and also stood in the
2017 City of Edinburgh Council election
The elections to the City of Edinburgh Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. It was the third successive Local Council election to run under the single transferable vote (STV) el ...
and the
2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom
The 2019 European Parliament election was the United Kingdom's component of the 2019 European Parliament election, held on Thursday 23 May 2019 and the results were announced on Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2019, after all the other EU countri ...
.
She is the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for health and social care.
Personal life
Her mother Audrey was a music teacher in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
. She has a sister, a brother and a partner.
References
External links
*
1991 births
Living people
Female members of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Green Party MSPs
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026
Alumni of Heriot-Watt University
People from Grangemouth
People with Ménière's disease
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