Kezia Dugdale

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Kezia Dugdale
MSP
KeziaDugdaleMSP20110509.JPG
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
Assumed office
15 August 2015
Deputy Alex Rowley
Preceded by Jim Murphy
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office
13 December 2014 – 13 June 2015
Leader Jim Murphy
Preceded by Anas Sarwar
Succeeded by Alex Rowley
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for the Lothian Region
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Assumed office
5 May 2011
Personal details
Born (1981-08-28) 28 August 1981 (age 42)
Aberdeen, Scotland
Nationality British
Political party Labour Party and
Co-Operative Party
Domestic partner Louise Riddell
Residence Lochend, Edinburgh
Alma mater Aberdeen University
Edinburgh University
Website www.keziadugdale.com

Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981)[1] is a Scottish Labour Party politician and has been the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 15 August 2015. She was previously the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian Region since 2011.[1][2]

Early life and education

Dugdale was born in Aberdeen in 1981.[1] She completed her secondary schooling at Harris Academy in Dundee, where she was Head Girl.[3]

She studied Law at the University of Aberdeen from 1999 to 2003, and completed a Masters in Policy Studies from 2004 to 2006 at the University of Edinburgh.[1] As well as living in Aberdeen and Dundee, she has resided in Elgin, Moray, before settling in Edinburgh in 2003. While studying in Edinburgh, Dugdale worked as Campaigns and Welfare Adviser for Edinburgh University Students' Association and as Public Affairs Officer at the National Union of Students Scotland.[1]

Early political career, and election as MSP

She sat on Scottish Labour's Policy Forum from 2006–08 as well as serving as an election agent to both Sarah Boyack MSP and Sheila Gilmore MP.[4] She had also volunteered in the parliamentary office of Pauline McNeill MSP as a researcher.[5]

She worked from 2007 to 2011 for the Labour Lothian regional MSP George Foulkes Lord of Cumnock as his parliamentary office manager and political adviser.[1]

In 2011, she was elected to the Scottish Parliament, as Scottish Labour's second candidate on their list for the Lothian Region. She serves as a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Member and currently sits on the Local Government and Regeneration and Subordinate Legislation Committees.[6][7] Dugdale was appointed to the post of Scottish Labour's Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning on 29 June 2013.[8]

In 2014, members of the Edinburgh Eastern Constituency Labour Party selected Dugdale as their candidate for the 2016 Scottish Parliament Election.

In 2014 she was elected as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, replacing Anas Sarwar, and defeating Katy Clark. As Jim Murphy, Labour's Scotland leader, did not have a seat in the Scottish Parliament, she stood in for him at First Minister's Questions.[9]

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

On 13 June 2015, she resigned the Deputy leadership in order to seek the leadership in the leadership election, which she won on 15 August.[2]

On Jeremy Corbyn

In an August 2015 interview with The Guardian she refused to publicly say who of the four candidates in the UK Labour leadership election she supported, but did express serious doubts as to whether Jeremy Corbyn could ever become Prime Minister. She said: "There are loads of people [in the Labour party] who are quite prepared to say 'Och, it doesn't matter if he doesn't look like a prime minister, there's someone who's authentic and says what they believe'. But I want there to be a Labour government, otherwise I'm wasting my time. I don't want to spend my whole life just carping from the sidelines. So you have to convince me that he can be Prime Minister. Here's a guy that's broken the whip 500 times. So how can the leader of the party enforce discipline with that record?".[10] After Jeremy Corbyn had been elected as leader, she revealed for the first time, on BBC Question Time on 30 October that she had voted for Yvette Cooper.[11]

Policy positions

Dugdale has said she wants to end the charitable status of private schools in Scotland which gives them tax breaks; in her opinion this is unfair to state schools.[12]

In a 27 July 2015 televised leadership debate with Ken Macintosh, she said it was wrong that Labour MPs abstained on the Conservative Government's Welfare Reform and Work Bill in the 20 July second reading vote in the House of Commons.[13]

Following the Lord Sewel scandal and resignation on 28 July 2015, she said the House of Lords should be elected and wants it moved to Glasgow.[10]

Personal life

Dugdale said that she was in a relationship with a woman as of 2016, but that she was disinclined to provide details of her private life.[14] She describes her interests as going to the theatre, reading Scottish crime novels and enjoying the city of Edinburgh in which she lives. She is a supporter of Hibernian, living close to Easter Road.[15] She has lived in the Lochend and Meadowbank area since 2006.[16]

She is a member of Unite the Union and the Community trade union. She has a weekly column in the Daily Record, and has regularly written for LabourList and Progress.[4]

Dugdale was a keynote speaker at the May 14th, 2016 Progress' Annual Conference.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Scottish Parliament – Current MSPs – Kezia Dugdale – Personal Information
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ The Scottish Parliament: – Committees – Local Government and Regeneration
  7. ↑ The Scottish Parliament: – Committees – Subordinate Legislation
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ http://www.progressonline.org.uk/event/pac16/
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
2014–2015		 Succeeded by
Alex Rowley
Preceded by Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
2015–present		 Incumbent
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