Nationality Scottish Political party Scottish Socialist Party | Name Liam McLaughlan | |
Born 21 March 1996 (age 28) ( 1996-03-21 ) Glasgow, Scotland Known for Campaigning for an independent socialist Scotland | ||
Liam mclaughlan ssp 2015 general election manifesto launch
Liam McLaughlan (born 21 March 1996) is a Scottish political activist. He is a member of the Scottish Socialist Party's Executive Committee and was an active youth campaigner ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
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Personal life
He is the son of a construction worker and a hotel chambermaid. He grew up and lives in Glasgow's working class suburb of Easterhouse. He attended St. Andrew's RC Secondary. In 2012, he said he lived in rented accommodation with his mother, who earns the national minimum wage.
Political career
McLaughlan told The Telegraph that he became interested in politics after conducting research for a talk on Scottish independence as part of his GCSE English course. In an interview with the ISG, he said he was inclined towards socialist politics because of his working class background. He co-founded the Glasgow North East branch of the Radical Independence Campaign and jointly led the creation of the RIC School Students network in 2013.
In October 2012, McLaughlan was praised in The Sun after complaining on TV about the increasing price of playing football on council-owned grounds. The intervention impressed comedian Kevin Bridges, who went on to play a game with him.
McLaughlan's political work around the referendum was the subject of a short film directed by Igor Slepov for the Scottish Documentary Institute, which was shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2014. He told Vice that he divided his time between political activism and a part-time job.
McLaughlan stood as the SSP candidate in Glasgow East in the 2015 UK general election. He was one of the youngest candidates in the election, saying the referendum campaign "gave me new confidence in my ability".
Since the election, he has continued to be active in campaigns against austerity and for the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour Act, which he has described as "a disaster since implementation".
At the SSP's annual conference in May 2015, Liam McLaughlan was elected to the party's ruling Executive Committee.