Early life
Born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley to Anne (née Coyle) and William Joseph McKechin, she was educated at Paisley Grammar School and Sacred Heart High School, before studying Scots law at the Strathclyde Law School, University of Strathclyde. She joined the Glasgow-based Pacitti Jones solicitors in 1983 as a solicitor, becoming a partner in 1990, she left the practice in 2000. McKechin held several posts within the Glasgow Kelvin (UK Parliament constituency), Glasgow Kelvin Labour Party from 1995, then the constituency of George Galloway, then a Labour Party (UK), Labour MP. She was selected as a candidate for the 1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, 1999 European election, but failed to be elected.Political career
She was elected to the British House of Commons, House of Commons at the 2001 United Kingdom general election, 2001 general election for the Glasgow Maryhill (UK Parliament constituency), Glasgow Maryhill constituency, following the retirement of the previous Labour MP, Maria Fyfe. She retained the Maryhill seat with a majority of nearly 10,000 votes. In the boundary changes which came into force for the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 election, the Maryhill constituency was abolished, and McKechin was elected for the newly drawn Glasgow North constituency, but with a much-reduced majority of 3,338 over the Scottish Liberal Democrats. In the House of Commons, McKechin served briefly as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jacqui Smith in 2005 in her capacity as Minister of State at both the Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom), Department of Trade and Industry and at the Department for Education and Skills (United Kingdom), Department for Education and Skills. She also served on a number of select committees including; Scotland Office, Scottish Affairs (2001–05) and International Development Committee, International Development (since 2005). She replaced David Cairns (politician), David Cairns as Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scotland Office on 16 September 2008. In October 2010, McKechin was elected to the Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband, Shadow Cabinet and appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, but was replaced by Margaret Curran in shadow cabinet reshuffle on 7 October 2011.References
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