Maurice Charles Golden (born 12 January 1980) is a

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. He has been 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 North East Scotland region since the May

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 ...

, after having previously been elected 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 ...

for West Scotland. Golden was the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture until May 2021. Golden was also previously Chief Whip and Business Manager.

Early life and education

Golden attended Gowriehill Primary School, the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

and the

University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...

from 1997 until 2001, and graduated with an MA (Honours) degree in Economics before going on to complete an MPhil in

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

and

cultural history Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...

and an LLM in

Environmental Law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

. In 2010, Golden received qualification from the

Chartered Institution of Wastes Management The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) is a professional body for the waste management industry in the United Kingdom and other countries. Based in Northampton, it has ten regional centres throughout England, Scotland, Wales, North ...

. Golden has experience in the waste and energy sectors, previously working for Ofgem and Consumer Focus as well as with Local Authorities advising on kerbside collections. He led the Circular Economy Programme for Zero Waste Scotland after 2011.

Political career

Golden has been a member of the Conservative Party since 1998. Golden stood for the Local Authority Elections in Dundee in Sidlaw West in 2002. He worked as a Campaign Manager for Douglas Taylor in the Perth and North Perthshire constituency in 2005. He stood for 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 ...

in 2007 as the Conservative candidate for Central Fife. He was selected as the Conservative Party candidate in the Glenrothes by-election for the Westminster Parliament in 2008, securing third place as Labour retained the seat. Two years later Golden secured second place in

Central Ayrshire Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

with 8,934 votes after standing in the

2010 UK General Election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

. In 2011, Golden stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in the Cunninghame North constituency. In 2016, Golden stood for the

as the Conservative candidate for Clydebank and Milngavie where he trebled the vote although came third, then was elected from the West Scotland regional list. Golden was the Chief Whip and Business Manager, and Spokesperson for the Low Carbon Economy in the Parliament. At the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, he was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland region. Maurice has pushed for a Private members' bill to tackle dog theft. The official consultation is expected to begin in 2022.

Personal life

In 2016, Golden was made a fellow of the

Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden, Maurice 1980 births Living people Alumni of the University of Dundee Place of birth missing (living people) Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish Conservative Party parliamentary candidates