John Bradford Finnie (born 31 December 1956) is a

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the ...

politician. He was the Green

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 Highlands and Islands region from 2016 up until 2021, having previously sat as 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 ...

(SNP) member from 2011 to 2012 then as an independent from 2012 to 2016. He was formerly a police officer and then a councillor.

Early life

Finnie was born in Clunes, and was educated at Achnacarry Primary and Lochaber High School.

Police

Finnie became a police officer in 1976 and served with the

Lothian and Borders Police Lothian and Borders Police was the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian between 1975 and 2013. The force's headquarters were in Fettes ...

and then as a uniformed Constable, latterly a Constable Dog Handler within the

Northern Constabulary The Northern Constabulary ( gd, Poileas a' Chinn a Tuath) was the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, which mak ...

. He was a full-time elected official – Constable Secretary, local branch of the

Scottish Police Federation The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) is an organisation representing Scottish police officers. It has approximately 18,500 members across the Police Service of Scotland. It campaigns on issues that affect pay and conditions though police officer ...

(SPF).

Political career

Finnie developed political awareness while still at High School and joined the SNP at 16 years old. He first stood as a candidate in a 2006 by-election for a

Highland Council The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional represe ...

seat. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

he was elected to representing the

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

Ness-side ward on

. He was SNP group leader and an SNP-Independent administration was formed. In June 2008 the coalition split. In November 2010, Finnie wrote to the

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

, urging her to reinvestigate the case of

Willie McRae Willie McRae (18 May 1923 – 7 April 1985) was a Scottish lawyer, orator, naval officer, politician and anti-nuclear campaigner. In the Second World War he served in the British Army and then the Royal Indian Navy. He supported the Indian indep ...

, who died in 1985. Finnie was elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 2011 election. He was parliamentary liaison officer to the Justice Secretary

Kenny MacAskill Kenneth Wright MacAskill (born 28 April 1958) is a Scottish politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Lothian since 2019. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2007 to 2014 and was a Member of the Scottish ...

. Finnie resigned from the SNP on 23 October 2012 over the party's decision to support

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

membership for an independent Scotland, attending Holyrood as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

member. In November of that year, he denied rumours that he was planning to join the

Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...

. Eventually, in October 2014, he joined the

Scottish Green Party The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 20 ...

although continued as an Independent MSP until the end of that session of parliament. In November 2013, Finnie submitted a Private Member's Bill proposal seeking to abolish the requirement for mandatory involvement of religious representatives on

local authorities Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

’ education committees. In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for the 2016 election, Finnie was placed top on their Highlands and Islands regional list. He was re-elected in the 2016 election and was joined in the Scottish Parliament by his daughter,

Ruth Maguire Ruth Bernadette Maguire is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Cunninghame South since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Maguire was elected as a councillor for North Ay ...

, who represents Cunninghame South for the SNP. In November 2016 he was announced as a member of the

Commission on Parliamentary Reform The Commission on Parliamentary Reform was an independent group, established in October 2016 by Ken Macintosh, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. It is chaired by John McCormick and published its report, with recommendations, on 20 ...

, having been nominated to represent the Scottish Greens. In May 2017, Finnie introduced a Private Member's Bill proposal seeking equal protection from assault for children by prohibiting their physical punishment by parents and others in charge of them. On 5 September 2017, the Scottish Government included support for his proposal in its Programme for Government for 2017–18. The proposed measures became law on 7 November 2019 (Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019). He announced in 2019 that he would not stand for re-election in 2021.

References

External links

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profile
at Scottish Green Party {{DEFAULTSORT:Finnie, John 1956 births Living people People from Lochaber People educated at Lochaber High School Independent MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Scottish Green Party MSPs Scottish National Party MSPs Scottish National Party councillors Scottish police officers category:Lothian and Borders Police officers