Gordon John Lindhurst is a former

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 ...

politician and practising

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

. He 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

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 from

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

. Lindhurst has also been called as a barrister in England and Wales.

Background and legal career

Lindhurst studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he completed his first degree, an LLB (Honours). At

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

he studied the vocational Diploma in Legal Practice before completing his legal training to become a solicitor with the Edinburgh law firm, Warden Bruce & Co. WS. Following qualification, Lindhurst studied for and was awarded a master's degree in European law at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in Germany, and is fluent in German. Thereafter calling to the Scottish Bar, he practised full time as an advocate until entering 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 ...

. Lindhurst was also called as a barrister in England and Wales in 2008. Lindhurst returned to practice in 2021.

Political career

Early career

Lindhurst was the Conservative candidate for

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

in the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2003 Scottish Parliament election The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party MSP, rema ...

s. He also stood in the 2001 general election in

and the 2005 Livingston by-election, finishing third of six with 9.0% and fourth of ten with 6.8% respectively. In the

2015 United Kingdom general election The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Loca ...

he stood as a candidate in Edinburgh South West, coming third of six candidates with 20.2% of the vote.

Election to the Scottish Parliament

In 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 electi ...

Lindhurst stood for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency, finishing in second place, but successfully increasing the Scottish Conservative vote share. Having missed out in the constituency vote, he was instead elected for the

regional list. As an MSP, he served as Convener of the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, whose work included one of the few Committee Bills of the session, the Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics (Scotland) Act 2021. He also served as a member of the Social Security Committee, the Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee, and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee during his time as an MSP.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindhurst, Gordon Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Heidelberg University alumni Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates