Natalie McGarry is the Member of Parliament for the Glasgow East constituency first elected at the 2015 general election.
Education
Born and raised in Inverkeithing in Fife, McGarry was educated at Saint Columba"s Roman Catholic High School in Dunfermline, before studying law at the University of Aberdeen, and worked as a policy adviser for a voluntary sector organisation.
Career
Before resigning the Scottish National Party whip, and sitting as an independent, McGarry was a Scottish National Party (Scottish National Party) activist and convener of the party"s Glasgow Region Association. At the Scottish National Party"s annual conference in 2012, McGarry argued on the anti-North Atlantic Treaty Organization side of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization debate in the Scottish National Party, stating that opposition "is not merely about nuclear weapons" and calling for the Scottish National Party to retain its opposition to North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership. McGarry, who had never classed herself as a feminist, was among activists who set up Women for Independence in 2012.
She told the Glasgow Herald the group was created "over a glass of wine" with former SSP Managing Successful Programmes Carolyn Leckie as its main driving force.
Explaining the decision, she said: "We came together because a group of us arrived at the conclusion, individually, that women"s voices were missing from both sides of the referendum debate."
She had previously sought selection as an Scottish National Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election, but failed. A year later, she was selected to contest Glasgow East in the 2015 General Election.
McGarry courted controversy after taking the oath of allegiance of the monarch. McGarry stated that "As long as in your heart and your head you believe sovereignty lies with the people, doesn"t matter what comes out your mouth".
McGarry subsequently deleted the comment.
In November 2015, it was reported that McGarry was linked with a police investigation into money which had gone missing from the accounts of the Women for Independence group. On 24 November it was announced that she had resigned the Scottish National Party whip and was automatically suspended from the party. In January 2016, McGarry and author J. K. Rowling were involved in a Twitter spat.
McGarry had accused the author of supporting an anonymous Twitter user with "misogynistic views".
McGarry later deleted some tweets and Rowling accepted her apology. In March, McGarry became embroiled in another row after she claimed on Twitter that the organisation Scotland in Union was "headed by an internet troll and a outed holocaust denier".
The organisation said that this was false and offensive. McGarry deleted her tweet and tweeted an apology, although the threat of legal action remained.
Politics
Already a well-known activist, McGarry"s profile in the Scottish National Party increased when she was selected as the party"s candidate for the 2014 Cowdenbeath by-election.
Views
Quotations:
"We came together because a group of us arrived at the conclusion, individually, that women"s voices were missing from both sides of the referendum debate." Already a well-known activist, McGarry"s profile in the Scottish National Party increased when she was selected as the party"s candidate for the 2014 Cowdenbeath by-election. She had previously sought selection as an Scottish National Party candidate in the 2014 European Parliament election, but failed. McGarry failed to win the by-election, gaining 5,704 votes (284%).
A year later, she was selected to contest Glasgow East in the 2015 General Election.
McGarry became the Member of Parliament for the Glasgow East Constituency on 8 May 2015, taking the seat from former Labour Member of Parliament Margaret Curran which was part of a historic election result that saw the Scottish National Party win 56 out of Scotland"s 59 seats at Westminster. McGarry courted controversy after taking the oath of allegiance of the monarch.
McGarry stated that "As long as in your heart and your head you believe sovereignty lies with the people, doesn"t matter what comes out your mouth". McGarry subsequently deleted the comment.
In November 2015, it was reported that McGarry was linked with a police investigation into money which had gone missing from the accounts of the Women for Independence group.
On 24 November it was announced that she had resigned the Scottish National Party whip and was automatically suspended from the party. In January 2016, McGarry and author J. K. Rowling were involved in a Twitter spat. McGarry had accused the author of supporting an anonymous Twitter user with "misogynistic views".
Membership
56th United Kingdom Parliament.