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
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{{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