Preceded by Pamela Nash Name Neil Gray Majority 8,779 (19.82%) Role Scottish Politician | Children 1 daughter Education University of Stirling Party Scottish National Party | |
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Born 16 March 1986 (age 38)
Kirkwall, Scotland ( 1986-03-16 ) Political party Scottish National Party Profiles | ||
Alma mater University of Stirling | ||
Neil gray snp for airdrie and shotts
Neil Charles Gray (born 1986) is a Scottish National Party politician. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Airdrie & Shotts since the general election in May 2015.
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Early life
Gray was born and brought up in Orkney, and was educated at Kirkwall Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Stirling in 2008 with a first-class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in politics and journalism.
Following his graduation, Gray was employed as a producer and reporter with BBC Radio Orkney from 2003 until 2008.
Political career
Gray worked as a press and research intern for the SNP parliamentary group at the Scottish Parliament. Grey was also employed by Alex Neil MSP from 2008, being appointed as constituency office manager in 2011.
The selection process for the Airdrie SNP candidacy, which Neil Gray ultimately won, was not without controversy. Former diplomat Craig Murray was nominated as a potential candidate at an Airdrie Branch meeting but did not make the final list as he failed SNP candidate vetting, whereupon he commented that "I think in both Airdrie & Shotts and in Falkirk it's evident who the party hierarchy wants to be the candidate." Former Policeman and SNP Councillor Alan Beveridge resigned from the party in February 2015 after Neil Gray was selected, claiming that there was a "climate of fear, intimidation and false allegations within the party" which were highlighted in the selection process.
In September 2016, Gray as a member of the new Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster proposed "the Joint Committee declines to consider a draft Report until it has given full consideration to the possibility of constructing a permanent new Parliamentary building, while finding an alternative future use for the Palace of Westminster; notes that this option was included in the Pre-Feasibility Study and Preliminary Strategic Business Case published in October 2012 but was rejected by the House of Commons Commission and the House of Lords House Committee at that stage; and resolves to apply the same rigorous scrutiny to the possible construction of a new Parliamentary building as it has applied to the other options for delivering the Restoration and Renewal Programme, before making a recommendation about the best option for carrying out the works" the committee voted 11/1 against this proposal. In 2017 he held his seat, Airdrie and Shotts, with a vastly reduced majority.
Personal life
Outside politics Gray was formerly a keen athlete, representing Scotland at 400m, until a serious knee injury ended his career in athletics.