Mary Christina Fee (born 23 March 1954) is a Scottish politician who was 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
West Scotland region from
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
to
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 ...
. A member of the
Scottish Labour Party
Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...
, she was its deputy spokesperson for a number of portfolios from 2017 to 2019.
Early life and career
Fee was born in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 23 March 1954. She was educated first at
Leith Walk Primary and later at
Broughton Secondary, both in Edinburgh.
After leaving education, she entered employment with the
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
where she stayed for two years (1972–1974). She then left the company to work for
British Telecom
BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
, where she remained for over ten years (1974–1984).
Having married in 1977, Fee transferred within British Telecom to their
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 popul ...
offices.
In 1990, Fee began working for
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
in their
Renfrew
Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...
store. She became involved in the trade union,
Usdaw
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of around 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wo ...
, of which she is still a member, and became a
shop steward
A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...
in 1990. Mary was elected onto the Usdaw Executive in 2000 and later became a member of the
STUC General Council. Fee served as a member of the
Employment Tribunals
Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statute, statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismis ...
during this time as resigned from the Tribunals as of February 2011.
Political career
Fee was elected to
Renfrewshire Council
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
in the
2007 Scottish local elections
The 2007 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England. All 32 Scottish councils had all their seats up for election – all Scottish councils are unitary ...
, having been elected on first preference votes in the first round to the Renfrew South and
Gallowhill
Gallowhill is a housing estate in the north east of Paisley, a town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Its approximate boundaries are formed by the M8 motorway to the north, the A741 Renfrew Rd to the west, to the south the Inverclyde railway line wit ...
Ward of Renfrewshire council.
For the
2011 Scottish Parliament election
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to Members of the 4th Scottish Parliament, elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, ...
,
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
had placed Fee as the candidate at the top of their West Scotland list and she was elected on 5 May. She stepped down as a councillor for the Renfrew South and Gallowhill Ward at the 2012 Scottish Local elections. During the fourth
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 ...
, Fee had various spokesperson posts for Scottish Labour. Under the leadership of
Johann Lamont
Johann MacDougall Lamont (; born 11 July 1957) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and ...
, Fee was Scottish Labour's Shadow Housing Minister; then under
Jim Murphy
James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ren ...
, Fee was promoted to the position of, Spokesperson for Infrastructure, Investment and Cities before later taking on the position of Spokesperson for Reform, after
Kezia Dugdale
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of the ...
was elected as the party's new leader in August 2015.
In September 2015, Fee's amendment to the
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill
Criminal Justice Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom relating to the criminal law (including both substantive and procedural aspects of that ...
was passed after receiving cross-party support. The amendment aimed to increase support to children with a parent in prison through the introduction of Child and Family Impact Assessments when an adult with dependent children is sent to prison.
Among Fee's other notable parliament work was the important role she played in campaigning for the passage of the
Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 5) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which allows same-sex couples to marry in Scotland since 16 December 2014.
The bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 26 June 2013 b ...
which legalised
same-sex marriage in Scotland
Same-sex marriage in Scotland has been legal since 16 December 2014. As family law is not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence to make changes to the law on marriage. A same-sex mar ...
.
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 electi ...
, Fee stood for the
Renfrewshire North and West constituency where she was placed third, although she was again returned to the Scottish Parliament on Labour's West of Scotland list. During the fifth Parliament, Fee is a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee and the
Justice Committee in the Scottish Parliament. She is also a substitute member of the
Public Petitions Committee.
[The Scottish Parliament – Current Members – Mary Fee](_blank)
/ref>
Fee established the Cross-Party Group on Families Affected by Imprisonment and was the Convener for this group.
Fee nominated Anas Sarwar
Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016, having been Member of Parliame ...
in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election.
Personal life
Fee lives in Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...
with her husband, Brian, with whom she has two sons. She suffers from lupus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fee, Mary
1954 births
Living people
Labour MSPs
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016
Place of birth missing (living people)
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021
Female members of the Scottish Parliament
People educated at Broughton High School, Edinburgh
Bank of Scotland people
British Telecom people
Tesco people