Ged Killen
Official portrait, 2017
Member of Parliament
for Rutherglen and Hamilton West
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byMargaret Ferrier
Succeeded byMargaret Ferrier
Member of South Lanarkshire Council
In office
4 May 2017 – 23 June 2017
WardRutherglen Central and North
Succeeded byMartin Lennon[n 1]
In office
14 February 2013 – 4 May 2017
WardRutherglen South
Preceded byAnne Higgins[n 2]
Personal details
Born
Gerard Killen

(1986-05-01) 1 May 1986
Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour Co-op
Spouse
Peter Killen
​
(m. 2013)​
WebsiteOfficial website

Gerard Killen (born 1 May 1986) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen and Hamilton West from 2017 to 2019.

Early life

Killen was born in Glasgow, living in the Gorbals before moving to Blantyre where he spent most of his youth. He attended Trinity High School in Rutherglen.[1][2]

Political career

Killen joined the Labour Party in 2007 and first stood for public office as a candidate in the 2012 South Lanarkshire Council election.

Following the death of sitting SNP councillor Anne Higgins, Killen successfully contested the 2013 Rutherglen South ward by-election and was elected to South Lanarkshire Council aged 26.[1][3] The by-election victory gave Labour an overall majority on the council. He was re-elected to the council at the 2017 local elections, this time in the Rutherglen Central and North ward.[4]

Killen won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West at the 2017 general election,[5] achieving a narrow majority of 265 votes over incumbent SNP MP Margaret Ferrier.[6][7] He made his maiden speech on 27 June 2017.[8]

During his tenure MP, Killen was an active campaigner for LGBT rights issues,[9] men's mental health,[10] and banking reform.[11]

On 13 June 2018, Killen and five other Labour MPs resigned their roles as frontbenchers for the Labour Party in protest at Labour's position on Brexit. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn had instructed his MPs to abstain in a vote which the UK would remain in the single market by joining the European Economic Area (EEA). The MPs resigned and voted in favour of the EEA.[12][13]

At the 2019 general election, a swing of over 5% saw Ferrier regain Rutherglen and Hamilton West from Killen. Killen advocated for his party to back a second Scottish independence referendum after his election defeat, arguing a future referendum was inevitable, but maintained his support for remaining in a "more federal UK".[14]

In September 2020, he called for Richard Leonard to resign as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party despite nominating him in the 2017 leadership election, saying he had since changed from supporting Leonard's leadership due to deep worries of grassroots members.[15]

Killen supported Monica Lennon in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election after urging her to run early in the contest.[16][17]

In anticipation of a by-election resulting from Margaret Ferrier's conduct in office, Killen was re-selected as Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for Rutherglen and Hamilton West in January 2021.[18] In May 2023, he was replaced as candidate by Michael Shanks.[19]

Personal life

Killen is gay, and married his husband Peter when they eloped in 2013. They hope to retire to Peter's hometown in Northern Ireland, which has influenced Killen's campaigning to equalise same-sex marriage laws between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.[20][21] Killen is a Roman Catholic.[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Normally, multi-member wards do not have individual predecessors and successors. However, Killen resigned from his seat before his term expired and triggered a by-election.
  2. ↑ Normally, multi-member wards do not have individual predecessors and successors. However, Higgins' death triggered a by-election won by Killen.

References

  1. 1 2 Dickie, Douglas (20 February 2013). "Killen wins Rutherglen South for Labour". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Edel Kenealy (15 June 2016). "Rutherglen LGBT community stands strong with Orlando friends in face of terror". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Seven to contest Rutherglen South by-election". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  4. ↑ "Council elections: SNP biggest party in Rutherglen and Cambuslang but Tory success is big talking point". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Gerard Killen MP". UK Parliament.
  6. ↑ Kerr, Aiden (9 June 2017). "Labour gain first Scottish seat from SNP in election". STV Group. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Spooner, Murray (9 June 2017). "Labour takes Rutherglen and Hamilton West". Daily Record / Rutherglen Reformer. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Ged Killen MP: Maiden speech". Scottish Labour. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Ged Killen MP: We must end 'stitch-up' blocking equal marriage in Northern Ireland". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  10. ↑ McEwen, Alan (19 December 2017). "Concerns raised as suicide rate increase by 8% in one year in Scotland". dailyrecord. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Scots MP in bid to ban fee-charging cash machines". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Culbertson, Alix (14 June 2018). "Six Labour MPs quit frontbench roles over key Brexit vote". Sky News. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Morris, Nigel (13 June 2018). "Six Labour frontbenchers resign in protest at Labour's Brexit position". i News. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Ferguson, John (22 December 2019). "Labour MP who lost seat tells party to 'accept reality' and back IndyRef2". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  15. ↑ Peterkin, Tom. "Richard Leonard attempts to hang on to Scottish Labour leadership as clamour for him to quit grows". Press and Journal. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "Monica Lennon joins Anas Sarwar in race to become Scottish Labour leader". The National. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  17. ↑ ChristieTuesday, Niall (25 January 2021). "Scottish Labour's Monica Lennon officially launches leadership campaign". Morning Star. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  18. ↑ Rodgers, Sienna. "Ged Killen selected for any future by-election in Margaret Ferrier seat". LabourList. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  19. ↑ Learmonth, Andrew. "Labour pick activist who quit party to be by-election candidate". The Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  20. ↑ E23: Ged Killen MP - #MeetTheMPs, retrieved 14 August 2019
  21. ↑ "Gay Scottish Labour MP attacks Tory deal with DUP". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Gay Catholic MP married to Northern Ireland man to address Belfast event". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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