Kirsty Blackman

Kirsty Ann Blackman (née West; born 20 March 1986)[2][3] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen North since 2015.

Kirsty Blackman

MP
Blackman in 2017
Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
In office
14 June 2017 – 1 July 2020
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byStewart Hosie
Succeeded byKirsten Oswald
SNP Spokesperson for the Treasury
In office
20 June 2017 – 7 January 2019
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byStewart Hosie
Succeeded byAlison Thewliss
SNP Spokesperson for the Constitution
Assumed office
7 January 2019
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byOffice established
Member of Parliament
for Aberdeen North
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byFrank Doran
Majority12,670 (33.9%)
Personal details
Born
Kirsty Ann West

(1986-03-20) 20 March 1986
Aberdeen, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)Luke Blackman[1]
Children2
WebsiteCommons website

Blackman was re-elected in 2017 and 2019.[4][5] Blackman was the SNP Westminster Spokesperson for the Economy from 2017 to 2019,[6] and the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader from 2017 to 2020.

Early life

She was educated at Robert Gordon's College after winning a scholarship.[7] Kirsty matriculated at the University of Aberdeen to read Medicine, but later dropped out.

She first entered politics when she was elected to Aberdeen City Council as an SNP councillor in the Hilton/Stockethill ward, in the Aberdeen North constituency in the 2007 Aberdeen City Council election topping the poll in her ward with 1,761 first preferences. Her brother, John West, was also elected for the Hazlehead/Ashley/Queens Cross ward at this time. She was re-elected in 2012 Aberdeen City Council election with 823 first preferences taking the second seat in the ward. She would become Convener of the SNP group in Aberdeen City Council at this time.[8]

Parliamentary career

At the 2015 general election, she became the Member of Parliament for Aberdeen North. She succeeded Frank Doran, of the Labour Party, who had announced in October 2013 that he would stand down at the next general election.[9] She won the seat with 24,793 votes, 13,396 more than the Labour Party candidate Richard Baker, and became SNP Spokesperson on the House of Lords.[10] In April 2016, she drew attention to the plight of unaccompanied refugee children during a Commons debate.[11] She was elected to the Scottish Affairs Committee in 2015. In July 2016, she spoke out on the importance of making Parliament more family-friendly after being censured by clerks for holding her sleeping two-year-old daughter in a committee hearing.[12]

She was the only SNP MP outside of Dundee to retain their seat in North East Scotland, formerly a nationalist stronghold, at the 2017 general election. Following the election, she became Deputy Leader of the SNP Westminster Group and SNP Westminster Spokesperson on the Economy. She was the first woman to lead for her party in the House of Commons on the Economy.[13]

Blackman held the seat at the 2019 general election with a majority of 33.9%, the largest percentage majority in Scotland. In January 2019, she became the SNP Spokesperson for the Constitution at Westminster, a strategic role leading on the constitution in preparation for an independence referendum.[14]

In July 2020 Blackman announced that she would be stepping down as the deputy leader of the SNP Westminster Group.[15] On 7 July it was announced that Kirsten Oswald was to be her successor.[16]

In February 2021, Blackman clashed on Twitter with fellow MP Joanna Cherry about transgender rights.[17][18][19]

References
  1. "Cllr Kirsty Blackman". Scottish National Party. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. Carr, Tim (18 May 2015). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781849549240.
  3. Scott, Kirsty (13 June 2007). "Fresh-faced challenge". The Guardian. UK: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  4. "Krusty Blackman". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. "Scottish National Party Spokespersons". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. "Kirsty Blackman, Parliamentary Career". parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. "Analysis: SNP bucks trend for privately educated MPs (From Herald Scotland)". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  8. Staff (8 May 2015). "Blackman wins Aberdeen North seat for SNP". BBC News. UK. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  9. Staff (19 October 2013). "Labour MP Frank Doran to step down at 2015 general election". BBC News. UK.
  10. Clark, Andrew (8 May 2015). "SNP candidate Kirsty Blackman wins Aberdeen North seat". The Press and Journal. UK.
  11. "Unaccompanied Children". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 608. United Kingdom: Westminster Hall. 19 April 2016. col. 276WH–279WH.
  12. Brooks, Libby (26 July 2016). "SNP MP censured for bringing her children to Commons Committee". The Guardian. UK.
  13. Stewart, Heather (3 January 2018). "Interview. Kirsty Blackman: 'Excuse me, I'd rather shake hands'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. "SNP make changes to frontbench team at Westminster (From Herald Scotland)". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  15. "Kirsty Blackman steps down as SNP deputy at Westminster". BBC News. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. https://twitter.com/kirstenoswald/status/1280545052109012992
  17. "Joanna Cherry sacked from SNP frontbench at Westminster". the Guardian. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  18. "Joanna Cherry 'blocks' SNP colleague Kirsty Blackman on Twitter amid LGBT row". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  19. "Joanna Cherry accuses SNP colleagues of spreading 'lies and smears'". inews.co.uk. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  • profile at the Scottish National Party website
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Frank Doran		 Member of Parliament for
Aberdeen North
2015–present		 Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Stewart Hosie		 Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
2017–2020		 Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.