Marion Fellows (née Fullarton, born 5 May 1949) is a

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 ...

(SNP) politician. Since the 2015 General Election, she has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Motherwell and Wishaw. She currently serves as the SNP spokesperson for Disabilities and as an SNP whip. Between June 2017 and January 2020 she was the SNP spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovations.

Early life and career

Fellows studied Accountancy and Finance at

Heriot Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

. For nineteen years, she taught

business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, a ...

West Lothian College West Lothian College is a further education institution in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. The Principal of the college is Jackie Galbraith, who was previously Vice-Principal at Ayrshire College. History The college has been located in L ...

, where she was an active member of the

Educational Institute of Scotland The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is the oldest teachers' trade union in the world, having been founded in 1847 when dominies became concerned about the effect of changes to the system of education in Scotland on their professional s ...

(EIS) trade union.

Political career

Fellows was elected in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

as a

North Lanarkshire Council North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

lor for

Wishaw Wishaw ( sco, Wishae or Wisha ; gd, Camas Neachdain) is a large town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the edge of the Clyde Valley, south-east of Glasgow city centre. The Burgh of Wishaw was formed in 1855 within Lanarkshire. it formed ...

, and was active in the "Yes Motherwell and Wishaw" campaign during the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...

, which managed to achieve a majority in

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

for leaving the United Kingdom, which made North Lanarkshire one of only 4 (out of 32) Scottish council districts to vote for independence, despite a national majority voting to stay in the UK. In 2007, Fellows unsuccessfully contested the Motherwell and Wishaw Scottish Parliament constituency against the incumbent, then-First Minister of Scotland

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister ...

, and then in 2010 unsuccessfully contested the Motherwell and Wishaw United Kingdom Parliament constituency, losing to the incumbent

Frank Roy Francis Roy (born 29 August 1958) is a former British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Motherwell and Wishaw from 1997 to 2015. He was a Government Whip and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury from 2006 to 2010, ...

. At the 2015 UK general election, Fellows was elected as the MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, with a majority of 11,898 votes. After being elected, she was appointed as an SNP whip in May 2015 and was a member of the Education Committee between July 2015 and May 2017 and then again between September 2017 and November 2019. She was also a member of the Education, Skills and the Economy Sub-Committee between October 2016 and May 2017. Fellows was re-elected as MP for the seat at the

2017 UK General Election The 2017 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 8 June 2017, two years after the previous general election in 2015; it was the first since 1992 to be held on a day that did not coincide with any local elections. The governing C ...

, with a significantly decreased majority of 318 votes. Between October 2018 and November 2019 she was a member of the Administration Committee. In June 2017, she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovation, a post she held until January 2020. Fellows was again re-elected at the 2019 UK general election as the MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, with an increased majority of 6,268 votes. In January 2020, she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for disabilities. Since January 2020, Fellows has been a member of the

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority The Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, or 'SCIPSA', is a body created under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 to scrutinise the UK's Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.Administration Committee The Administration Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has a remit "to consider the services provided for and by the House of Commons". Membership As of July 2022, the members of t ...

Personal life

She has lived with her family in

and

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

since the 1970s. Marion was married to her husband George, until his death in 2018 from

Sarcoma A sarcoma is a malignant tumor, a type of cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal (connective tissue) origin. Connective tissue is a broad term that includes bone, cartilage, fat, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues, and sarcom ...

References

External links

Profile
on SNP website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellows, Marion 1949 births Living people Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies People educated at the Mary Erskine School People from Wishaw Place of birth missing (living people) Scottish National Party councillors Scottish National Party MPs Scottish trade unionists UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present 21st-century Scottish women politicians 21st-century Scottish politicians Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Councillors in North Lanarkshire People from Irvine, North Ayrshire Women councillors in Scotland