Fulton MacGregor
MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Coatbridge and Chryston
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Preceded byElaine Smith
Majority9,437 (26.4%)
Personal details
Born1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Airdrie, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materUniversity of Strathclyde
University of Edinburgh

Fulton James MacGregor MSP (born 1980) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston since 2016. He serves on the Justice and Education & Skills committees in the Scottish Parliament.[2]

Early life

MacGregor attended Coatbridge High School before going on to gain degrees in Psychology and in Social Work from the University of Strathclyde and the University of Edinburgh.

Political career

MacGregor stood as an SNP candidate in the North Lanarkshire Council election in 2012 and was elected as one of four councillors for the Coatbridge North and Glenboig ward.

In August 2015 MacGregor was selected by the SNP as their local candidate to contest the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. In an acrimonious internal selection process, party members chose MacGregor ahead of five other candidates. A small minority of branch members then unsuccessfully attempted to have MacGregor de-selected as a candidate.[3] In February 2016 the Coatbridge and Chryston Branch was suspended entirely by the SNP, until the election had passed.[4] Branch members later went as far as to plan a silent protest at the 2016 SNP party conference held in Glasgow in March.[3] In a secret recording of one meeting, MacGregor was heard stating that the internal fighting was making him "physically sick".[5] During the campaign MacGregor was branded as 'no show', a name initially coined by journalist Tom Gordon in reference to him not attending a hustings.[6]

On 6 May 2016, MacGregor was elected as the first SNP MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston.[7] He retained the seat in the 2021 election with an increased majority and 57% of the vote share.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ↑ "Fulton MacGregor". www.scottish.parliament.uk. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  3. 1 2 Learmonth, Andrew (12 March 2016). "Silent protest against 'Monklands McMafia' planned for SNP conference in Glasgow". The National. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Learmonth, Andrew (10 February 2016). "SNP suspends Coatbridge and Chryston branch". The National. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Gordon, Tom (3 April 2016). "SNP candidate in professional misconduct probe". The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Thomas, Ellen (25 April 2016). "Election Unspun: a sighting of the SNP's elusive Fulton MacGregor and what's your stance on fracking?". The Herald.
  7. ↑ "Election 2016: Coatbridge and Chryston Scottish Parliament constituency". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Constituencies A-Z | Coatbridge & Chryston, BBC News; retrieved 7 May 2021
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