Ross John Greer (born 1 June 1994[citation needed]) is a Scottish politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Greens, he was the youngest MSP elected in the 2016 election.
Ross Greer | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ross John Greer 1 June 1994 Dunbartonshire, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish Greens |
| Other political affiliations | Yes Scotland (2012–2014) Scottish Youth Parliament (2011–2013) |
| Residence(s) | Milngavie, Scotland |
| Education | Bearsden Academy University of Strathclyde (attended) |
| Occupation | Politician |
Early life and career
editGreer was educated at Bearsden Academy, leaving in 2012.[1][2] Greer was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, representing the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency 2011–13.[3] Greer joined the Scottish Greens at the age of 15.[4] He took part in the Debating Matters competition in 2012, where he reached the national final.[5]
Greer studied politics and psychology "for a time" at Strathclyde University, but abandoned his studies in December 2012 after being recruited by Yes Scotland to be their communities co-ordinator for the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum.[6] Following the referendum, Greer was employed by the Scottish Greens in a role involving campaigns communications and fundraising.[7]
Political career
edit
Greer stood as the Scottish Green candidate in the East Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 general election, securing 5th place with 804 votes (1.5%).[4] He became the Scottish Greens' party spokesman on Europe and external affairs.[7] In March 2015, the Scottish Greens announced Greer had been selected as the lead candidate for their West Scotland regional list, following a ballot of their members.[8]
Ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Greer was critical that the general level of engagement with 16 and 17-year-olds as first-time voters had been below what was seen in the referendum.[9] On 6 May 2016, he was elected with 17,218 votes (5.3%) as an additional member for the West Scotland region. Elected at the age of 21 years old, he became Scotland's youngest MSP.[10] Before Greer was elected, the youngest MSP had previously been Labour's Mark Griffin, who was 25 years old when he was first elected in 2011.[1] On 22 May, he was appointed the Scottish Greens' spokesperson for International Development and External Affairs, Education and Skills, and Culture and Media.[11]
Like his Green colleagues, Greer is opposed to an independent Scotland joining NATO. He told the Daily Record:[12]
NATO is a 'first strike' nuclear alliance, meaning it claims the right to launch its weapons of mass slaughter against other countries without having been attacked first. There can never, ever be justification for murdering millions of innocent people like that. For this reason alone, never mind NATO's history of provoking rather than avoiding conflict, the Scottish Greens are clear that an independent Scotland should follow Ireland's lead and stay out. Instead, we should immediately sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which would not only make the Trident submarines at Faslane illegal and force their removal, it would also show that we refuse to let others use weapons of mass destruction on our behalf.
Greer currently serves as the co-chair of the Scottish Greens Executive Committee.[13]
Controversy
editIn 2019, Greer was strongly criticised for having posted a tweet, while a secondary school student, in June 2012 which read "I'm not exaggerating when I say nothing would thrill me more than for Buckingham Palace to burn to the ground."[14]
On 25 January 2019, Greer posted a tweet calling Winston Churchill "a white supremacist mass murderer." He later went on Good Morning Britain and Politics Live and was challenged on his views.[15][16] This was not the first time Greer has been criticised for his comments about the Second World War; a few years prior he was criticised in The Sun after tweeting that "Imperial Britain was happy to live with Hitler" in reference to the policy of Appeasement.[14]
Personal life
editGreer is a member of the Church of Scotland.[17]
Greer is bisexual and identifies as queer, as confirmed during a Scottish Parliament debate about his opposition to the appointment of Kate Forbes as Deputy First Minister of Scotland.[18][19][20]
References
edit- ^ a b Davidson, Jenni (6 May 2016). "Youngest ever MSP elected for the Scottish Greens". Holyrood.
- ^ "Greer is unveiled as the Green Party's Westminster hope". Bearsden & Milngavie Herald. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ Bowden, George (6 May 2016). "Scottish Election Results: Greens' Ross Greer Becomes Youngest MSP". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ a b Coutts, Eva (6 May 2016). "Holyrood 2016: Greens' Ross Greer, 21, becomes youngest MSP". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "People: Ross Greer". www.debatingmatters.com. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ Anon. (6 May 2016). "Election 2016: Scottish Green Ross Greer elected youngest ever MSP at 21 on West of Scotland list". The Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b Greer, Ross. "LinkedIn profile of Ross Greer". LinkedIn. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Scottish Greens regional list candidates". Holyrood. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ Brooks, Libby (3 May 2016). "Don't patronise us, Scottish teenagers tell politicians bidding for their votes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Greens' Ross Greer becomes youngest MSP". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
- ^ "Scottish Greens announce portfolios of new Holyrood group". HeraldScotland. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ McCall, Chris (10 February 2021). "Independent Scotland should delay NATO membership until nuclear weapons removed". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ "Scottish Greens cancel conference because of coronavirus as delay phase nears". The Herald. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Right-wing media are REALLY unhappy with Ross Greer over Churchill tweet". The National. 30 January 2019.
- ^ Record Reporter (29 January 2019). "Piers Morgan branded 'snowflake' by Ross Greer during live TV tantrum". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "MSP Ross Greer brands Churchill 'mass murderer'". BBC News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ Brooks, Libby (22 May 2019). "Anger as Church of Scotland decides not to divest from fossil fuels". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ^ Carrell, Severin; Brooks, Libby (9 May 2024). "Kate Forbes elected Scotland deputy first minister despite Green opposition". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ https://twitter.com/scottishgreens/status/1788570435753300037 [bare URL]
- ^ https://twitter.com/Ross_Greer/status/1788998551986454846
External links
edit
- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Ross Greer
- profile on Scottish Greens website