Martin John Docherty-Hughes (born 21 January 1971)[1] is a Scottish National Party politician. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dunbartonshire from 2015 until his defeat in 2024.[2] He has also served as SNP Defence Spokesperson from 2023 to 2024.
Martin Docherty-Hughes | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| SNP Defence Spokesperson in the House of Commons | |
| In office 4 September 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Stephen Flynn |
| Preceded by | Dave Doogan |
| Succeeded by | Position Abolished |
| Chief Whip of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons | |
| In office 7 December 2022 – 17 January 2023 | |
| Leader | Stephen Flynn |
| Preceded by | Owen Thompson |
| Succeeded by | Brendan O'Hara |
| Member of Parliament for West Dunbartonshire | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Gemma Doyle |
| Succeeded by | Douglas McAllister |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin John Docherty 21 January 1971 Clydebank, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Alma mater | Glasgow Metropolitan College University of Essex Glasgow School of Art |
| Website | martindocherty |
Early life and education
editDocherty-Hughes was raised by his parents in Clydebank, and began working from the age of 16.[3] He studied at the Glasgow College of Food Technology, now City of Glasgow College, graduating with an HND in Business Administration in 1997.[3] He subsequently obtained a degree in Politics from the University of Essex and attended the Glasgow School of Art for his master's degree.[3] On finishing his studies Martin returned to Clydebank and worked for a decade for the West Dunbartonshire Community and Volunteering Services (WDCVS).[3]
Political career
editHe joined the Scottish National Party in 1991, and was elected the following year as Scotland's youngest councillor to the-then Clydebank District Council in May 1992, at the age of 21, until 31 March 1996.[4] He was elected to the third seat of the Anderston/City ward of the Glasgow City Council on 3 May 2012 polling 1,057 votes and 19.9% and exceeding the quota on the second count, becoming a Bailie until 14 May 2015.
In February 2015, he was selected as the SNP candidate for the West Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 UK general election.[5] He defeated incumbent Gemma Doyle, winning 30,198 votes and 59% of the vote.[6][7] As a consequence of his election to Parliament, he stepped down from his position on Glasgow City Council.
He changed his name from Docherty to Docherty-Hughes after marrying his husband John Hughes in January 2016.[8]
The descendant of a woman from Ballinglen, County Mayo and a man from Stralongford in County Donegal, he is also a relative of Ian McGarvey and has many relatives scattered around Philadelphia and New York.[9]
He was appointed as Chief Whip following the 2022 SNP Westminster Group Leadership contest by new leader, Stephen Flynn.[10]
Docherty-Hughes was unseated at the 2024 general election, losing his seat to Douglas McAllister of Scottish Labour.
References
edit- ^ Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
- ^ "Douglas McAllister wins the West Dunbartonshire seat".
- ^ a b c d Hannah, Martin (4 June 2015). "Meet your new Scottish MPs: #19 Martin Docherty West Dunbartonshire". The National. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ^ Profile, snp.org; accessed 23 June 2016.
- ^ "SNP candidate ready for election 'battle'". Dumbarton Reporter. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ SNP wins West Dunbartonshire, bbc.co.uk; accessed 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Connecting People Through News". Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via PressReader.
- ^ Walsh, Paddy (24 March 2022). "MPs lay claim to deep Donegal roots in House of Commons debate". Donegal News. p. 13.
Next to his feet was Martin Docherty-Hughes (Dunbartonshire West) of the Scottish National Party. As someone with probably one of the longest Irish names in history - Máirtín Seán Ó Dochartaigh-Aodha - it would, he insisted, have been remiss of him not to have participated in the debate... 'I was delighted to be there to welcome the then Mayor of Letterkenny' - Councillor Ian McGarvey - 'who was related which was great'.
Speaking during the House of Commons debate on the Irish Diaspora in Britain, promoted by Rochdale Labour MP Tony Lloyd, on 17 March 2022. - ^ "New SNP leader at Westminster Stephen Flynn sacks chief whip". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
External links
edit
- Personal website
- Profile on SNP website
