Kirsty Blackman

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Kirsty Blackman
MP
Official portrait of Kirsty Blackman crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2017
Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
In office
14 June 2017 – 1 July 2020
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byStewart Hosie
Succeeded byKirsten Oswald
SNP Spokesperson for the Treasury
In office
20 June 2017 – 7 January 2019
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byStewart Hosie
Succeeded byAlison Thewliss
SNP Spokesperson for the Constitution
Assumed office
7 January 2019
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byOffice established
Member of Parliament
for Aberdeen North
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byFrank Doran
Majority12,670 (33.9%)
Personal details
Born
Kirsty Ann West

(1986-03-20) 20 March 1986 (age 35)
Aberdeen, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)Luke Blackman[1]
Children2
WebsiteCommons website

Kirsty Ann Blackman (née West; born 20 March 1986)[2][3] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen North since 2015.

Blackman was re-elected in 2017 and 2019.[4][5] Blackman was the SNP Westminster Spokesperson for the Economy from 2017 to 2019,[6] and the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader from 2017 to 2020.

Early life[]

Blackman was educated at Robert Gordon's College after winning a scholarship.[7] She matriculated at the University of Aberdeen to study medicine.

She first entered politics when she was elected to Aberdeen City Council as an SNP councillor in the Hilton/Stockethill ward, in the Aberdeen North constituency in the 2007 Aberdeen City Council election topping the poll in her ward with 1,761 first preferences. Her brother, John West, was also elected for the Hazlehead/Ashley/Queens Cross ward in the same election. She was re-elected in 2012 Aberdeen City Council election with 823 first preferences taking the second seat in the ward She then became the Convener of the SNP group in Aberdeen City Council.[8]

Parliamentary career[]

At the 2015 general election, she became the Member of Parliament for Aberdeen North. She succeeded Frank Doran, of the Labour Party, who had announced in October 2013 that he would stand down at the next general election.[9] She won the seat with 24,793 votes, 13,396 more than the Labour Party candidate Richard Baker, and became SNP Spokesperson on the House of Lords.[10] In April 2016, she drew attention to the plight of unaccompanied refugee children during a Commons debate.[11] She was elected to the Scottish Affairs Committee in 2015. In July 2016, she spoke out on the importance of making Parliament more family-friendly after being censured by clerks for holding her sleeping two-year-old daughter in a committee hearing.[12]

She retained her seat at the 2017 general election. Following the election, she became Deputy Leader of the SNP Westminster Group and SNP Westminster Spokesperson on the Economy. She was the first woman to lead for her party in the House of Commons on the Economy.[13]

Blackman held the seat at the 2019 general election with a majority of 33.9%, the largest percentage majority in Scotland. In January 2019, she became the SNP Spokesperson for the Constitution at Westminster, a strategic role leading on the constitution in preparation for an independence referendum.[14]

In July 2020 Blackman announced that she would be stepping down as the deputy leader of the SNP Westminster Group, saying "Like many others, I've struggled with the impact that lockdown has had on my mental health. In order to prioritise my constituency and my family, I have made the difficult personal decision to step down from my Leadership role. I strongly believe that people must be able to talk openly about mental health issues, which affect so many of us".[15] On 7 July it was announced that Kirsten Oswald was to be her successor.[16] On 24 September 2020 she spoke more about suffering with depression.[17][18]

In January 2021, Blackman publicly criticised former party leader Alex Salmond,[19] labelling him an "awful human".[20]

In February 2021, Blackman clashed on Twitter with fellow MP Joanna Cherry about transgender rights.[21][22][23]

In November 2021, Blackman offered unreserved apologises after using the suicide of Rose Paterson, wife of the Conservative MP Owen Paterson, to make a political point about the lobbying scandal in which Paterson was involved in at the time. Blackman tweeted “Missed your bus because your wife committed suicide and so you were two minutes late to your job centre appointment? - SANCTIONED. Lobby the Government on behalf of companies who pay you £9k a month? oh, you poor lamb, no sanction for you.” Rose Paterson committed suicide by hanging in June 2020.[24] The tweet has since been deleted. She later tweeted “After some reflection, I have deleted a tweet I made earlier. I offer my unreserved apologies for tweeting it, particularly to anyone who may have been upset or offended. I’m sorry.”.[25]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cllr Kirsty Blackman". Scottish National Party. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. ^ Carr, Tim (18 May 2015). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781849549240.
  3. ^ Scott, Kirsty (13 June 2007). "Fresh-faced challenge". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Krusty Blackman". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. ^ "Scottish National Party Spokespersons". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Kirsty Blackman, Parliamentary Career". parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Analysis: SNP bucks trend for privately educated MPs (From Herald Scotland)". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  8. ^ Staff (8 May 2015). "Blackman wins Aberdeen North seat for SNP". BBC News. UK. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  9. ^ Staff (19 October 2013). "Labour MP Frank Doran to step down at 2015 general election". BBC News. UK.
  10. ^ Clark, Andrew (8 May 2015). "SNP candidate Kirsty Blackman wins Aberdeen North seat". The Press and Journal. UK.
  11. ^ "Unaccompanied Children". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 608. United Kingdom: Westminster Hall. 19 April 2016. col. 276WH–279WH.
  12. ^ Brooks, Libby (26 July 2016). "SNP MP censured for bringing her children to Commons Committee". The Guardian. UK.
  13. ^ Stewart, Heather (3 January 2018). "Interview. Kirsty Blackman: 'Excuse me, I'd rather shake hands'". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. ^ "SNP make changes to frontbench team at Westminster (From Herald Scotland)". Heraldscotland.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Kirsty Blackman steps down as SNP deputy at Westminster". BBC News. 1 July 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. ^ @kirstenoswald (7 July 2020). "Delighted to be new deputy leader of @theSNP group at Westminster. I look forward to working with @Ianblackford_MP…" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ "Kirsty Blackman: Aberdeen MP shares mental health struggles and says 'it is OK not to be OK'". Press & Journal. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  18. ^ @KirstySNP (24 September 2020). "This is a long road for all of us. Please know that you are not alone. It is okay to not be okay" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Nationalist feud could fatally wound Scottish independence hopes". POLITICO. 12 January 2021.
  20. ^ @KirstySNP (9 January 2021). "Patriarchy and misogyny out in full force this morning. Man who has admitted acting inappropriately and abusing his…" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 May 2021 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "Joanna Cherry sacked from SNP frontbench at Westminster". the Guardian. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Joanna Cherry 'blocks' SNP colleague Kirsty Blackman on Twitter amid LGBT row". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Joanna Cherry accuses SNP colleagues of spreading 'lies and smears'". inews.co.uk. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  24. ^ Hutcheon, Paul (5 November 2021). "SNP MP apologises for "appalling" suicide tweet on Tory sleaze row". Daily Record.
  25. ^ @KirstySNP (4 November 2021). "After some reflection, I have deleted a tweet I made earlier. I offer my unreserved apologies for tweeting it, part…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links[]

  • profile at the Scottish National Party website
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for
Aberdeen North
2015–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
2017–2020 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""