Alan Reid (born 7 August 1954,

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, Scotland) is a

Scottish Liberal Democrat The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 of ...

politician who has been a councillor in the

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 ...

ward of Bearsden North since

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. He was previously 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 o ...

(MP) for

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

from 2001 to 2015, when he lost his seat to the

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 th ...

(SNP) at the 2015 general election. He was first elected at the 2001 general election.

Background

Reid was educated at Ayr Academy and the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

where he gained a BSc in Mathematics. Prior to his election to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

he worked for 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 , ...

as a computer project manager. He remains a member of the AUT (Association of University Teachers). He was a councillor on Renfrewshire District Council from 1988 to 1996.

Parliamentary career

Reid contested Paisley South in a 1990 by-election and the 1992 general election and

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

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, before being elected for Argyll and Bute in 2001. In the 2010 Parliament, he served on the Scottish Affairs Committee. In the previous Parliament he was the Liberal Democrat spokesman for

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

and

Scotland Office The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland ( gd, Oifis Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba), often referred to as, and formerly officially called, the Scotland Office, is a department of His Majesty's Government headed by the Secretary of State ...

matters. He has also served as a Liberal Democrat whip. During the

MPs expenses scandal The United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal was a major political scandal that emerged in 2009, concerning expenses claims made by members of the British Parliament in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords over the previous year ...

, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' drew attention to Reid's claims of over £1500 for stays in B&B's within his own constituency. Reid argued overnight stays were necessary where ferry timetables made it impossible to return to his constituency home, and said he had successfully challenged initially rejected expense claims by explaining the geography of Argyll and Bute. Reid unsuccessfully stood as the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

candidate in his former seat of

at the

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and 2019 general elections as well as for the corresponding seat of the same name at the 2016 Scottish Parliamentary elections. He was the lead list candidate in the Highlands and Islands electoral region for the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary elections as well as being the constituency candidate for

East Dunbartonshire Council

For 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 ...

, Reid was announced as a candidate for Bearsden North in

. On 6 May 2022, he was elected alongside Calum Smith of the SNP and independent candidate Duncan Cumming.

References

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadc ...

'' Democracy Live {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Alan 1954 births Living people People from Ayr People educated at Ayr Academy Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs UK MPs 2001–2005 UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 Scottish Liberal Democrat councillors Councillors in Renfrewshire

Background

Parliamentary career

East Dunbartonshire Council

References

External links