Annabelle Ewing
Encyclopedia
Annabelle Janet Ewing is a Scottish politician, lawyer and currently a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for Mid Scotland and Fife
. She is a former Member of Parliament
for Perth
.
in Glasgow
and the University of Glasgow
, where she graduated with a law
degree.
Before becoming an MP, Annabelle Ewing was an European Community competition lawyer in Brussels
and ran a small legal practice.
She lives in Perthshire
, and is a member of what is perhaps Scottish politics' best-known 'clan'. Her mother is former SNP President, Winnie Ewing
, who in the past was a member of three different parliaments - Westminster, the Scottish Parliament
and the European Parliament
. She is sister to MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) Fergus Ewing
, and sister-in-law to the late Margaret Ewing
, who was also an MSP and a former Westminster MP.
Ms Ewing is a member of both Shelter
and Amnesty International
. She has been involved in a number of Parliamentary campaigns, including fighting for the rights of Hepatitis C
sufferers, and working to gain a public enquiry into the events at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut
, where James Collinson, a constituent, died on 23 March 2002.
's old seat in 2001, defeating the Conservative
candidate by just 48 votes, giving her the slimmest majority in Scotland. In the 2005 election
, following a radical boundary revision, she contested the new constituency of Ochil and South Perthshire, but lost it to the Labour party candidate, Gordon Banks
. She stood to succeed her sister-in-law as SNP candidate for Moray
in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections but was defeated by North East Scotland MSP Richard Lochhead
. She was later selected to contest the Falkirk East
seat in the 2007 election
on behalf of the SNP as a replacement for the deceased Douglas Henderson
. On 3 May 2007 a 9% swing from Labour to the SNP in Falkirk East, however this was not enough to displace the incumbent Cathy Peattie
. She contested Ochil and South Perthshire for a second time at the 2010 election, failing again to take it from Gordon Banks, this time on an increased (4%) swing away from the SNP to Labour.
She is famed due to an incident that occurred on 16 December 2004, whereby the deputy speaker removed her from the house as she refused to apologise for calling the then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
a "back-stabbing coward" during exchanges over Geoff Hoon's plans to merge Scottish Regiments, including the Black Watch
.
Mid Scotland and Fife (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Mid Scotland and Fife is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
. She is a former Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Perth
Perth (UK Parliament constituency)
Perth was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918, 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005. From 1832 to 1918 it was a burgh constituency. From 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005, it was a county constituency...
.
Background
She attended the Craigholme School for GirlsCraigholme School
Craigholme School is an independent all-girls school situated in the Pollokshields area of the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The school was founded in 1894 by Mrs Jessie Murdoch as Pollokshields Ladies' School. The school had forty pupils on the roll and was housed at 63 Dalziel Drive in...
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, where she graduated with a law
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
degree.
Before becoming an MP, Annabelle Ewing was an European Community competition lawyer in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and ran a small legal practice.
She lives in Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
, and is a member of what is perhaps Scottish politics' best-known 'clan'. Her mother is former SNP President, Winnie Ewing
Winnie Ewing
Winifred Margaret 'Winnie' Ewing is a Scottish nationalist, lawyer and prominent SNP politician who was formerly a Member of Parliament , Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Scottish Parliament...
, who in the past was a member of three different parliaments - Westminster, the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
and the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
. She is sister to MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) Fergus Ewing
Fergus Ewing
Fergus Ewing is the Scottish Government's Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Inverness and Nairn.- Background :...
, and sister-in-law to the late Margaret Ewing
Margaret Ewing
Margaret Anne Ewing was a Scottish National Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament...
, who was also an MSP and a former Westminster MP.
Ms Ewing is a member of both Shelter
Shelter (charity)
Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. She has been involved in a number of Parliamentary campaigns, including fighting for the rights of Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus . The infection is often asymptomatic, but chronic infection can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is generally apparent after many years...
sufferers, and working to gain a public enquiry into the events at Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut
Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut
The Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, commonly referred to as Deepcut Barracks, is the headquarters of the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army and the Defence School of Logistics. Located near Camberley, Surrey, England, it was the headquarters of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps until the...
, where James Collinson, a constituent, died on 23 March 2002.
Parliamentarian
She was elected to Roseanna CunninghamRoseanna Cunningham
Roseanna Cunningham is the Scottish Government's Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, having previously represented Perth.-Early life:Raised in Australia, she returned to Scotland and...
's old seat in 2001, defeating the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate by just 48 votes, giving her the slimmest majority in Scotland. In the 2005 election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, following a radical boundary revision, she contested the new constituency of Ochil and South Perthshire, but lost it to the Labour party candidate, Gordon Banks
Gordon Banks (politician)
Gordon Raymond Banks is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire since 2005.-Early life:...
. She stood to succeed her sister-in-law as SNP candidate for Moray
Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...
in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections but was defeated by North East Scotland MSP Richard Lochhead
Richard Lochhead
Richard Neilson Lochhead is the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Moray.-Background and early career:...
. She was later selected to contest the Falkirk East
Falkirk East (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Falkirk East is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
seat in the 2007 election
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
on behalf of the SNP as a replacement for the deceased Douglas Henderson
Douglas Henderson
Douglas Henderson was a Scottish politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party , representing the East Aberdeenshire constituency from February 1974 to March 1979, and held virtually every national office in the SNP, short of party leader...
. On 3 May 2007 a 9% swing from Labour to the SNP in Falkirk East, however this was not enough to displace the incumbent Cathy Peattie
Cathy Peattie
Cathy Peattie is a Scottish Labour politician and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk East from 1999 to 2011. In the Scottish Parliament general election, 2011, she was defeated by Angus MacDonald of the Scottish National Party.-External links:* new site for 2011 election*...
. She contested Ochil and South Perthshire for a second time at the 2010 election, failing again to take it from Gordon Banks, this time on an increased (4%) swing away from the SNP to Labour.
She is famed due to an incident that occurred on 16 December 2004, whereby the deputy speaker removed her from the house as she refused to apologise for calling the then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon
Geoff Hoon
Geoffrey "Geoff" William Hoon is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Ashfield from 1992 to 2010...
a "back-stabbing coward" during exchanges over Geoff Hoon's plans to merge Scottish Regiments, including the Black Watch
Black Watch
The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The unit's traditional colours were retired in 2011 in a ceremony led by Queen Elizabeth II....
.