Gillian Mackay
MSP
Affirming in 2021
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
8 May 2021
Personal details
Born (1991-08-11) 11 August 1991[1]
Falkirk, Scotland
Political partyScottish Greens
Alma materHeriot-Watt University

Gillian Audrey Mackay[2] (born 1991) is a Scottish Green politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[3] She is the first Green MSP ever to be elected in Central Scotland.[4]

Raised in Grangemouth, she is a graduate in marine biodiversity and biotechnology from Heriot-Watt University. She has the sensory disorder Ménière's disease.[5]

Political career

Mackay first entered politics with an internship with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood.[5] She received the internship through a program which aimed to support disabled people in politics.[5] She subsequently went on to become a Regional Campaign Support Officer for the Lothian region.

Prior to being elected to the Scottish Parliament, Mackay was an unsuccessful candidate in the Linlithgow and East Falkirk constituency in the 2019 UK general election, and also stood in the 2017 City of Edinburgh Council election and the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom.[5]

She is the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for health and social care,[6] and currently sits on the Parliamentary Bureau for the party.[7]

Mackay lodged the draft proposal for her Members Bill, "the Abortion Services Safe Access Zones (Scotland)", on the 18 May 2023; with the final proposal lodged on 15 June 2023. The consultation for the Bill received 11,827 personal responses and 52 organisational responses.[8] The Bill has subsequently received support from MSP's from all Parties in the Parliament and has secured the right to be introduced.[9]

Personal life

Her mother Audrey was a music teacher in Falkirk. She has a sister, a brother and a partner.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ↑ "2019 Westminster Parliamentary election results". Falkirk Council. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ↑ Mcilkenny, Stephen (8 May 2021). "Patrick Harvie says list votes for Greens up across Scotland". The Herald. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021.
  4. ↑ Paterson, Kirsty (8 May 2021). "Scottish Election 2021 results: Scottish Greens win first MSP in Central Scotland". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ross, Calum (12 October 2020). "On a whim: Gillian Mackay stumbled into politics but now is taking great strides". The Courier. Dundee. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Nutt, Kathleen (21 May 2021). "Scottish Greens unveil roles for all their Holyrood team following the election". The National. Herald and Times Group. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Parliamentary Bureau". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Mackay, Gillian. "Proposed Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill – Gillian Mackay MSP" (PDF). www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Proposed Abortion Services Safe Access Zones Scotland Bill". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Paterson, Kirsty (11 May 2021). "Gillian Mackay: Grangemouth's groundbreaking Green MSP to be sworn in at Holyrood". www.falkirkherald.co.uk. JPMedia Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 23 May 2021.


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