Preceded by Constituency Created Role Scottish politician Name Elaine Smith | Majority 4,510 (17.5%) Party Scottish Labour Party | |
 | ||
Born 7 May 1963 (age 60)
Coatbridge ( 1963-05-07 ) | ||
Political party Scottish Labour Party | ||
Elaine Agnes Smith (born 5 May 1963, Coatbridge) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2016, previously having been the MSP for the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency from 1999 to 2016.
Political career
She was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999, and subsequently returned in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
On 11 May 2011, Smith was elected to serve as one of two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament.
In 2013 Smith voiced her opposition to same sex marriage claiming that it could lead to polygamy.
On 5 May 2016 Smith lost her seat after watching her share of the vote drop by almost 18%. She gained a regional list seat and returned to the parliament for the new session. She was unsuccessful in her attempt to become Presiding Officer, being defeated by fellow Labour list MSP Ken Macintosh.
Smith supported Jeremy Corbyn during the Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2015
During the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016, Smith backed Britain leaving the European Union, contrary to the position of the Labour Party. Scotland subsequently voted 62% in favour of remaining in the European Union.