Meghan Gallacher (born 17 January 1992) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives since 2022. She 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 add ...

(MSP) for the Central Scotland region since

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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

. Gallacher was a councillor for the Motherwell West ward from

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

to 2022, serving as the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

party's group leader in the

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 ...

Early life

Education

Meghan Gallacher was born on 17 January 1992 in

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 to the southwest, Viewpark to the w ...

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 als ...

and was brought up in nearby

Holytown Holytown ( sco, 'Holy-Town' - Holytown, gd, Baile a' Chuilinn)

. She studied political science and government at the
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...
Campus (now New Lanarkshire Campus) of the
University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Blantyre, South Lanar ...
from 2010 to 2014. In her final year of university, she wrote her dissertation on the "decline of the Conservative Party from
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
to the present day and the impact f then Scottish Conservatives leader
Ruth Davidson Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish ...
". She graduated with a BA.

Early career
While studying at university, Gallacher worked part-time at
John Lewis and Partners John Lewis & Partners (formerly and commonly known as John Lewis) is a brand of high-end department stores operating throughout the UK, with concessions also located in the Republic of Ireland and Australia. The brand sells general merchandis ...
in
customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...
. In 2014, after graduating, she worked full-time at the company for two years. She served as a Customer Relations Case Manager, dealing with customer concerns at CEO level. In September 2016, she left John Lewis to work as a Parliamentary Researcher for Edward Mountain, the MSP for the Highlands and Islands region.

Early political involvement
Gallacher grew up in a predominantly left-wing community that had resentment towards the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
for closing down steelworks. This was the typical ideology of many Scottish industrial heartlands, but Gallacher believed it was the Conservatives were vital in future prosperity for communities like hers. Her grandmother, Elizabeth McLeod, stood unsuccessfully in various elections to the
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 ...
. After attending an association meeting with her grandmother, Gallacher joined the Scottish Conservatives. Gallacher first stood for election in 2015 at Thorniewood ward by-election for
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 ...
, she was eliminated at Stage 5 of the count. The following year, she stood for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency 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 electio ...
, finishing in third place. She was also the fifth placed Conservative candidate for the Central region, but was not elected.

Political career

North Lanarkshire Council (2017–2022)
Gallacher was elected to North Lanarkshire Council for the Motherwell West ward in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, she subsequently became the party's group leader. At the
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
,
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
and
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
UK general elections, she stood for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency, finishing third on all three occasions.

Election to Holyrood
She was elected to the Scottish Parliament in
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 coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
for the Central Scotland region, elected through the regional list vote. She had also stood for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency. On 12 January 2022, Gallacher called for
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...
to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the
Westminster lockdown parties controversy Partygate was a political scandal in the United Kingdom about parties and other gatherings of government and Conservative Party staff held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, when public health restrictions prohibited most gath ...
along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.

Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives (2022–present)
On 9 May 2022, she was announced as the new deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, following on from the
2022 Scottish local elections The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%. Compared to the previous ...
.

Personal life
Gallacher is engaged to Graeme McGinnigle, a former
East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...
councillor who she met at a Conservative Party reception. She gave birth to their first child, a daughter called Charlotte, on 10 July 2022.

Notes

References

External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallacher, Meghan 1992 births Living people Politicians from North Lanarkshire Alumni of the University of the West of Scotland Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Female members of the Scottish Parliament Scottish Conservative Party councillors Councillors in North Lanarkshire Women councillors in Scotland