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Meghan Gallacher

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Meghan Gallacher
MSP
Official portrait, 2021
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
In office
9 May 2022 – 16 August 2024
LeaderDouglas Ross
Preceded byLiam Kerr and Annie Wells[a]
Succeeded byRachael Hamilton
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 May 2021
Councillor, North Lanarkshire Council
In office
5 May 2017 – 5 May 2022
ConstituencyMotherwell West
Personal details
Born (1992-01-17) 17 January 1992 (age 32)
Bellshill, Scotland[1]
Political partyScottish Conservatives
Alma materUniversity of the West of Scotland

Meghan Gallacher (born 17 January 1992)[2] is a British politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives from 2022 to 2024. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2021. Gallacher was a councillor for the Motherwell West ward from 2017 to 2022, serving as the Conservatives party's group leader in the North Lanarkshire Council.

Gallacher was a candidate in the 2024 Scottish Conservatives leadership election, finishing 3rd.[3]

Early life

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Education

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Meghan Gallacher was born on 17 January 1992 in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire and was brought up in nearby Holytown. She studied political science and government at the Hamilton Campus (now New Lanarkshire Campus) of the University of the West of Scotland from 2010 to 2014.[4] In her final year of university, she wrote her dissertation on the "decline of the Conservative Party from Margaret Thatcher to the present day and the impact [of then Scottish Conservatives leader] Ruth Davidson".[5] She graduated with a BA.[6]

Early career

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While studying at university, Gallacher worked part-time at John Lewis and Partners in customer service. In 2014, after graduating, she worked full-time at the company for two years. She served as a Customer Relations Case Manager, dealing with customer concerns at CEO level. In September 2016, she left John Lewis to work as a Parliamentary Researcher for Edward Mountain, the MSP for the Highlands and Islands region.[6]

Early political involvement

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Gallacher grew up in a predominantly left-wing community. Her grandmother, Elizabeth McLeod, stood unsuccessfully in various elections to the North Lanarkshire Council. After attending an association meeting with her grandmother, Gallacher joined the Scottish Conservatives.[7]

Gallacher first stood for election in 2015 at Thorniewood ward by-election for North Lanarkshire Council, she was eliminated at Stage 5 of the count.[8] The following year, she stood for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, finishing in third place. She was also the fifth placed Conservative list candidate for the Central Scotland region, but was not elected.[9][10]

Political career

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North Lanarkshire Council (2017–2022)

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Gallacher was elected to North Lanarkshire Council for the Motherwell West ward in 2017, she subsequently became the party's group leader.[11]

At the 2015, 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, she stood for the Motherwell and Wishaw constituency, finishing third on all three occasions.[12][13]

Election to Holyrood

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She was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2021 for the Central Scotland region, elected through the regional list vote. She had also stood for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency.[14][15]

On 12 January 2022, Gallacher called for Boris Johnson to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the Westminster lockdown parties controversy along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.[16]

Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives (2022–2024)

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On 9 May 2022, she was announced as the new deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, following on from the 2022 Scottish local elections.[17]

Gallacher resigned as deputy leader on 16 August 2024, writing in a letter to outgoing leader Douglas Ross that it would be inappropriate for her to continue in the role due to her standing in the leadership election to succeed him and due to reported allegations he had sought to stand down the year earlier and install Russell Findlay as leader.[18]

Personal life

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Gallacher is married to Graeme McGinnigle,[19] a former East Dunbartonshire councillor who she met at a Conservative Party reception.[7] She gave birth to their first child, a daughter called Charlotte, on 10 July 2022.[20]

Notes

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  1. ^ Office vacant between 12 August 2020 and 9 May 2022.

References

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  1. ^ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ^ Meghan Gallacher MSP [@mgallachermsp] (17 January 2022). "Well that's me officially 30! I have been spoiled all day and can't thank my Mum, Dad and @Graeme__mcg enough for making it so special" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Gallacher quits as deputy Scottish Conservative leader after Ross 'plot'". 16 August 2024.
  4. ^ Farquharson, Gregor (9 December 2021). "Lanarkshire MSP and former student praise university's new developments". Daily Record. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Politics graduate Meghan Gallacher on voting Conservative and why she has set her sights on becoming next female prime minister". Daily Record. 21 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Meghan Gallacher". LinkedIn.
  7. ^ a b Taylor, Margaret (17 February 2022). "Granny knows best: An interview with Meghan Gallacher". Holyrood Website. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Results" (PDF). mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Motherwell and Wishaw - Scottish Parliament constituency - Election 2016 - BBC News" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ "Central Scotland Regional List Candidates". South Lanarkshire. 27 February 2016.
  11. ^ North Lanarkshire Council – Councillor Meghan Gallacher, Scottish Conservative Councillors Association
  12. ^ "Motherwell & Wishaw parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ "Election history for Motherwell and Wishaw (Constituency) - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk.
  14. ^ "Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse - Scottish Parliament constituency". BBC News.
  15. ^ "Scottish Parliament Scotland Central". Sky News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  16. ^ Green, Chris [@ChrisGreenNews] (12 January 2022). "Majority of Scottish Tories' 31 MSPs at Holyrood now openly calling for the Prime Minister to resign" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ MacKenzie, Lewis (9 May 2022). "Scottish Conservatives appoint new chairman and deputy leader". STV News. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Gallacher quits as deputy Scottish Conservative leader after Ross 'plot'". The Herald. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  19. ^ Percival, Richard (21 February 2022). "Tory MSP wants new parent leave for politicians to be 'seen as the norm'". Scottish Daily Express. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  20. ^ Percival, Richard (12 July 2022). "Scottish Tory deputy leader Meghan Gallacher gives birth to daughter". Scottish Daily Express. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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