Preceded by Gregg McClymont Education Kilsyth Academy Residence Milton of Campsie | Nationality Scottish Majority 14,752 (29.87) Name Stuart McDonald | |
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Full Name Stuart Campbell McDonald Political party Scottish National Party | ||
Stuart Campbell McDonald (born 2 May 1978) is a Scottish National Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency. He is the SNP Spokesperson on Immigration, Asylum and Border Control and a member of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.
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He was elected in May 2015 with 59.9% of the vote, gaining a 14,752 majority over incumbent Labour MP and Shadow Pensions Minister, Gregg McClymont. McDonald is the first SNP MP to represent Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, which covers parts of the North Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire council areas.
Early life and career before politics
Raised in Milton of Campsie, the community where he continues to live, McDonald attended Kilsyth Academy between 1990 and 1996. He studied at the University of Edinburgh between 1996 and 2001, where he graduated from with a 2:1 Bachelor of Law (Hons), and a Diploma in Legal Practice. During his time at the University of Edinburgh, McDonald studied European and Comparative Law while on an ERASMUS year at the University of Leuven, between 1997 and 1998.
After graduating from university, McDonald worked as a Legal Trainee with Simpson and Marwick Solicitors, between October 2001 and July 2003, before he went to work for NHS Scotland's Central Legal Office, as a Solicitor – a position he held between July 2003 and November 2005. In November 2005, McDonald began working for the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS), as a Human Rights Solicitor – a job he held until November 2009, when he became a Senior Researcher at the Scottish Parliament.
He left his position at the Scottish Parliament in February 2013, to become a Senior Researcher for the pro-independence Scottish independence referendum campaign Yes Scotland, a position he held until the independence referendum on 18 September 2014. Immediately prior to his election, McDonald worked as a Parliamentary and Public Affairs Officer for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, a Glasgow-based charity.
Member of Parliament (2015–present)
McDonald was officially selected unopposed as the SNP candidate, in December 2014, for the constituency which he has described as his "home patch". He went on to win Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East in the 2015 UK Parliamentary Election with 59.9% of the vote, and a majority of 14,752.
Following his election, McDonald became the SNP's Spokesperson on Immigration, Asylum and Border Control, building on his previous experience as an immigration lawyer.
McDonald is gay and, on 19 May 2015, gathered with other LGBT SNP MPs, including his younger near-namesake Stewart McDonald, to campaign for a Yes vote in the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage, being held 3 days later.