Patricia Gibson (born 12 May 1968) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as SNP Attorney General Spokesperson since September 2023.[1][2] She served as the SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government from 2021 to 2022. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Ayrshire and Arran 2015–2024.[3]
Patricia Gibson | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2020 | |
| SNP Attorney General Spokesperson in the House of Commons | |
| In office 4 September 2023 – 5 July 2024 | |
| Leader | Stephen Flynn |
| Preceded by | Angela Crawley (2022) |
| SNP Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the House of Commons | |
| In office 10 December 2022 – 4 September 2023 | |
| Leader | Stephen Flynn |
| Preceded by | Deidre Brock |
| Succeeded by | Steven Bonnar |
| SNP Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the House of Commons | |
| In office 1 February 2021 – 10 December 2022 | |
| Leader | Ian Blackford |
| Preceded by | David Linden |
| Succeeded by | Chris Stephens |
| SNP Spokesperson for Consumer Affairs in the House of Commons | |
| In office 20 June 2017 – 10 December 2022 | |
| Leader | Ian Blackford |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Member of Parliament for North Ayrshire and Arran | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Katy Clark |
| Succeeded by | Irene Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 May 1968 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Spouse | Kenneth Gibson |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
Early life and career
editPatricia Gibson was born and educated in Glasgow. She received a BA (Hons) and MA (Hons) in English and Politics from the University of Glasgow. After graduation, she taught English for over twenty years.[4][5]
Political career
editIn 2007, Gibson was elected to the Glasgow City Council as a councillor for the Greater Pollok ward,[6] on which she served until 2012. While on the council, she was the SNP's spokesperson for education on the Glasgow city council.[4]
At the 2010 general election, Gibson stood as the SNP candidate in North Ayrshire and Arran, coming second with 25.9% of the vote behind the incumbent Labour MP Katy Clark.[7]
Parliamentary career
editAt the 2015 election, Gibson was elected to Parliament as MP for North Ayrshire and Arran with 53.2% of the vote and a majority of 13,573.[8][9][10][11]
Between July 2015 and May 2017 Gibson was a member of the Procedure Committee.[3]
Gibson was re-elected as MP for North Ayrshire & Arran at the snap 2017 general election with a decreased vote share of 38.9% and a decreased majority of 3,633.[12][13]
In June 2017 she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for Consumer Affairs. Between September 2017 and 6 November 2019, Gibson was a member of the Backbench Business Committee.[3]
At the 2019 general election, Gibson was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 48.5% and an increased majority of 8,521.[14][15][16]
Since March 2020, she has been a member of the Backbench Business Committee.[3]
During her time as an MP, Gibson was an active campaigner on behalf of Women Against State Pension Inequality. She was later presented with a WASPI Hero Award by the Ayrshire WASPI group. [17]
On 16 April 2022, The Times reported that a complaint of sexual harassment against Gibson had been "provisionally upheld" by Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).[18] On 23 June 2022, the report on the complaint from Parliament's Independent Expert Panel was published. The report cleared Gibson,[19] concluding that the original investigation "was materially flawed in a way that affected the decision of the Commissioner." The report noted that persistent breaches of confidentiality during the investigation caused "significant harm.... including the respondent being subjected to significant online abuse and harassment, including sexual threats, as well as derogatory graffiti at her place of work which necessitated an increase in personal security." [20]
In July 2023, Gibson was re-selected to stand as the SNP's candidate in North Ayrshire and Arran at the 2024 general election.[21]
Personal life
editGibson lives in Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire which is within her parliamentary constituency.[4]
She is married to Kenneth Gibson, a Member of the Scottish Parliament.
References
edit- ^ SNP, the (10 December 2022). "The real opposition: meet your new SNP Westminster Frontbench". Scottish National Party. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "SNP announces frontbench reshuffle at Westminster". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Parliamentary career for Patricia Gibson – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "Patricia Gibson". Scottish National Party. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "About". patriciagibson. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Local and European Election Results 2007" (PDF). p. 43.
- ^ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Ayrshire North & Arran". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "North Ayrshire and Arran (Constituency) 2015 results – General election results – UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/news/UKParliamentaryElectionsNorthAyrshireandArran.aspx 18Aug15
- ^ "UK Election Results: Ayrshire North & Arran 2015".
- ^ "North Ayrshire and Arran (Constituency) 2017 results – General election results – UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Ayrshire North & Arran parliamentary constituency – Election 2017 – BBC News". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ "North Ayrshire and Arran (Constituency) 2019 results – General election results – UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ "Forthcoming ElectionsMinimize". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Ayrshire North & Arran parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "MP Patricia Gibson receives award from Ayrshire WASPI Group". 8 June 2023.
- ^ Boothman, John (16 April 2022). "Sexual harassment complaints against SNP MPs are upheld". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2022/june/independent-expert-panel-upholds-appeal-by-patricia-gibson-mp-against-sexual-misconduct-complaint/[bare URL]
- ^ "The Conduct of Ms Patricia Gibson MP" (PDF). UK Parliament. 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Patricia Gibson: North Ayrshire and Arran MP to stand for re-election". Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
External links
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