Paul Francis O'Kane is a

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

politician who has served as 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 West 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 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Early life

Born in Paisley and raised in

Neilston Neilston ( sco, Neilstoun, gd, Baile Nèill, ) is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at t ...

, O'Kane attended St Luke's High School in Barrhead where he was Head Boy. From there he went onto study at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

for an MA (Hons) in English Literature and Politics. Whilst attending the University of Glasgow, he was chair of the University Labour Club.

Political career

O'Kane represented Newton Mearns North and Neilston ward on

East Renfrewshire Council East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of ...

. On 6 April 2015, he was chased down a street in

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

by a man with a chainsaw while campaigning for

Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ren ...

in the 2015 general election. O'Kane has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Scotland since the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election. He has served as Deputy

Convenor The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee since 2021 and Scottish Labour Shadow Minister for Public Health, Social Care and Drugs Policy. In April 2023 he was promoted to the position of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Social and Equalities replacing Pam Duncan Glancy who moved to the Education and Skills Portfolio. Paul served as a member of

from

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 ...

representing the people of Neilston, Uplawmoor and Newton Mearns North and served as Deputy Education convenor. He was re-elected 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 ser ...

to represent the new council ward Newton Mearns North and Neilston following boundary changes and became Deputy Leader of East Renfrewshire Council as well as Convenor for Education and Equalities. He was the Scottish Labour group leader on the council from 2017 to 2021. He stood down as a Councillor at the 2022 Council Elections.

Personal life

Prior to being an MSP Paul worked in the charity sector. He is openly gay and the first openly gay man elected to the Scottish Parliament for Scottish Labour. Paul married his husband, Alan in August 2021.

References

External links

* Living people Labour MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 LGBT members of the Scottish Parliament 21st-century British politicians People from East Renfrewshire Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire Alumni of the University of Glasgow 1988 births {{MSP-stub