Preceded by Rob Gibson Name John Wilson | Role Scottish Politician | |
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Constituency Coatbridge North and Glenboig Born 28 November 1956 (age 67) ( 1956-11-28 ) Committees Local Government and Regeneration Committee, Public Petitions Committee | ||
Political party Scottish Green Party | ||
John Gordon Wilson (born 28 November 1956) is a Scottish Green Party politician. He was formerly a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region 2007—2014, then was sitting as an independent 2014−16. He stood unsuccessfully as a Green candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the Scottish Parliament election, 2016 and then as an independent candidate in the Scottish local elections, 2017.
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Education
Wilson was educated at Camelon High School in Falkirk, then at Coatbridge College and Glasgow University. He has a MA in Politics and Economic History. He was a director of the Scottish Low Pay Unit from 2001 - 2007.
Political career
Wilson joined the SNP in 1999. As a member of the SNP, he was elected to the Scottish Parliament to represent Central Scotland at the 2007 election. The following day the results of local election held on the same day were returned- he had also been elected as a Councillor for the Coatbridge North and Glenboig ward of North Lanarkshire Council. He stood down from the council position to focus on his work at Holyrood, and was replaced by Labour's Peter Sullivan in a by-election on 4 June 2009.
He stood as a SNP candidate in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency at the 2011 election and although he secured 40% of the vote, he came second. He was returned to Parliament by the regional list.
Wilson was a member of the Scottish Parliament's Local Government and Regeneration Committee and of the Public Petitions Committee. He was one of the MSPs who challenged the use of external consultants by both the Climategate review and latterly the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) quango. He was Deputy Convener of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee until September 2012 when he became Deputy Convener of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee.
Wilson opposed the change in SNP policy to support an independent Scotland becoming a member of NATO. He became an independent MSP in September 2014 after the Scottish independence referendum, 2014.
In December 2014, Wilson announced he had joined the Scottish Green Party, but would remain in Parliament sitting as an Independent member. In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for the 2016 election, with Wilson placed second on their regional list for Central Scotland. In October 2015 it was announced that he would contest the constituency of Coatbridge and Chryston.
He stood for the newly created Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn constituency in the Scottish local elections, 2017 as an independent candidate, but again was unsuccessful.