Gavin Andrew Stuart Newlands (born 2 February 1980) 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 th ...

politician. He 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 o ...

(MP) for

Paisley and Renfrewshire North Paisley and Renfrewshire North is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election, replacing most of Paisley North and Renfrewshire West. Constituency Profile Th ...

since the 2015 general election. He has served as the SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since 2020. Newlands is the first ever MP for the constituency to be elected from the SNP. At the 2017 general election, he was re-elected, with a reduced majority of 9,076 votes to 2,613. Subsequently, at the 2019 election Newlands achieved his biggest majority in the seat, of 11,902 or 24.0% of the vote.

Early life

Newlands was born in the old Paisley Maternity Hospital in 1980 and raised in the town of

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's form ...

, where he currently resides with wife, Lynn and their two children. He was educated at Renfrew's St James' Primary and

Trinity High School Trinity High School is the name of high schools: United Kingdom * Trinity High School, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Scotland * Trinity High School, Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland * Trinity High School and Sixth Form Centre, in Redditch, England *Trini ...

. While enrolled at

James Watt College The James Watt College was a further education college in Greenock, Scotland. It is now part of West College Scotland. There were also campuses in Largs and Kilwinning which now form part of Ayrshire College as the result of the merger with ...

, Newlands was offered a promotion in his part-time job at McDonalds, and dropped out of college. Newlands has been a member of the SNP for 25 years. He joined the youth wing of the party in 1992 at the age of twelve. He became a local

community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

councillor for Renfrew in 2011 and has supported local causes, including a West of Scotland foodbank. Newlands was a member of Paisley Rugby Club for 16 years, serving as club captain for three years.

Parliamentary career

Newlands was selected to stand for election for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in January 2015 after securing the support of local party members following an internal selection process. He was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 Westminster election when he overturned the incumbent Labour MP's 15,280 majority and emerged with a majority of 9,076 votes for himself - representing a 26.47% swing to Newlands and the SNP. He is currently the Westminster SNP Spokesperson on Transport, having previously led for the party on Sport,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, as well as being Chair of the White Ribbon All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Male Violence Against Women and is Chair of the APPG on Scottish Sport. He serves on the

Justice Select Committee The Justice Select Committee of the United Kingdom is a select committee of the House of Commons which scrutinizes the policy, administration, and spending of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, the committee examines the work of the Law Offi ...

. Newlands is an ambassador for White Ribbon Scotland and has participated in parliamentary debates on

International Men's Day International Men's Day (IMD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on November 19 to recognize and celebrate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of men. The objectives of celebrating an International Men's Day are set ou ...

to speak about

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often c ...

. On 25 November 2021, during a parliamentary debate on International Men's Day, Newlands spoke in criticism of the holiday, describing it as an "anathema to me" and "a rather cruel joke concocted in response to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

and

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wo ...

". When challenged on his views by

Conservative 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 ...

MP Nick Fletcher, Newlands said that "we need men in general to take responsibility for what men have done and continue to do - including making misogynistic comments or committing violence against women." In 2020, he introduced a bill banning exploitative Fire and Rehire practices. He was reappointed as the SNP Spokesperson for Transport by Leader Stephen Flynn.

References

External links

SNP profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newlands, Gavin 1980 births Living people Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Paisley constituencies People from Renfrew Scottish National Party MPs UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present