Mary Elizabeth Scanlon (born 25 May 1947,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

) is a

Scottish Conservative Party 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. She 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

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

region 1999–2006 and 2007–2016.

Biography

She unsuccessfully contested North East Fife in the 1992 general election; finishing in second place with 16,122 votes and a 38.5% share of the vote. She contested Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber at the 1997 general election; where she finished in fourth place with a 17.5% share of the vote and received 8,355 votes. She resigned from her list seat to contest the

2006 Moray by-election A by-election in the Moray constituency of the Scottish Parliament was held on 27 April 2006 following the death of the Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Margaret Ewing on 21 March 2006, from breast cancer. Th ...

caused by the death of

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

MSP

Margaret Ewing Margaret Anne Ewing (''née'' McAdam, formerly Bain; 1 September 1945 – 21 March 2006) was a Scottish teacher, journalist and politician. She served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire from 1974 to ...

, but was defeated in the by-election by

Richard Lochhead Richard Neilson Lochhead (born 24 May 1969) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who is Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Moray since 2006. He was previou ...

of the SNP. During the campaign, the decision to keep the word "Conservative" off her election material proved controversial. She was embroiled in further controversy when it emerged that letters apparently backing her candidacy from local independent councillors were not authorised. Her list seat was taken up by Dave Petrie. She was returned to Parliament on the list vote in the 2007 election after failing to win the 2006 by-election. She was again re-elected in

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 ...

. She did not stand for re-election in

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 ...

. She has served as Health spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and on her resignation was their spokesman for Communities. In her capacity as Health spokeswoman, she has called for single vaccine alternatives to the

MMR vaccine The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (German measles), abbreviated as ''MMR''. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age, ...

. Scanlon was the-then Conservative spokesperson for Education and Lifelong Learning. In 2014, Scanlon revealed she routinely socialised and drank with the late independent MSP Margo MacDonald and Christine Grahame of the SNP in what they called the "White Heather Club" - the Scottish Parliament's bar. Scanlon was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlon, Mary 1947 births Living people Politicians from Dundee Alumni of the University of Dundee Female members of the Scottish Parliament Conservative MSPs Politics of Moray Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates 20th-century Scottish women politicians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire