Pamela Nash
Encyclopedia
Pamela Nash is a British
Labour Party
politician, who has been the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Airdrie and Shotts
since the 2010 general election.
, North Lanarkshire
, and educated locally in St Margaret's High School, Airdrie and Chapelhall
. Nash lost her mother and stepfather when she was 17.
She spent her first summer after high school volunteering at a school in Nyeri, Kenya and followed this up with a placement in Uganda during her time at university. She studied politics
at the University of Glasgow
, specialising in human rights and international development, after initially hoping to study anthropology at King's College, Cambridge, and she also rejected the opportunity to study at St. Andrews as she "felt the place was elitist".
and a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament
, where she served on the executive committee and was the convenor of the External Affairs Committee. She interned for John Reid
for one year as his constituency assistant and subsequently was employed for a period of three years as his parliamentary assistant.
and, at the age of 26, is currently the youngest MP in the House of Commons, also called Baby of the House
. The leader of the Labour MSPs in the Scottish Parliament
, Iain Gray
said she had a "big future in Scottish politics".
Nash is currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Curran
as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and to Vernon Coaker
as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She served on the Finance Bill 2011 Public Bill Committee. She is a member of the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology and is also a member of the Parliamentary Space Committee.
Following the death of David Cairns MP she was elected as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for HIV and AIDS. She is also the Treasurer of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Multiple Sclerosis and the Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Housing.
In September 2010, Nash declared in favour of David Miliband in the Labour Party leadership election. On 2 December 2010, Nash took part in a BBC Debate on age differences in politics and the wider society with Bill Cash MP. Nash has pledged to oppose the repeal of the Hunting Act 2004
, which protects foxes, hares, deer and mink from hunting with hounds.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician, who has been the 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,...
(MP) for Airdrie and Shotts
Airdrie and Shotts (UK Parliament constituency)
Airdrie and Shotts is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in central Scotland within the North Lanarkshire council area. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
since the 2010 general election.
Early life and education
Pamela Nash was born in AirdrieAirdrie, North Lanarkshire
Airdrie is a town within North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles east of Glasgow city centre. Airdrie forms part of a conurbation with its neighbour Coatbridge, in the former district known as the Monklands. As of 2006,...
, North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. It borders onto the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains much of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also borders Stirling, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, West Lothian and South Lanarkshire...
, and educated locally in St Margaret's High School, Airdrie and Chapelhall
Chapelhall
Chapelhall is a village outside the town of Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. However, with house building this distinction between Airdrie and Chapelhall is being eroded...
. Nash lost her mother and stepfather when she was 17.
She spent her first summer after high school volunteering at a school in Nyeri, Kenya and followed this up with a placement in Uganda during her time at university. She studied politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
at 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...
, specialising in human rights and international development, after initially hoping to study anthropology at King's College, Cambridge, and she also rejected the opportunity to study at St. Andrews as she "felt the place was elitist".
Early career
Nash was the parliamentary officer for the Young FabiansYoung Fabians
The Young Fabians is the under 31 years of age section of the Fabian Society, a socialist society in the United Kingdom.- History :The Fabian Society was founded by a group of young idealists in the late 19th century . For example HG Wells was 27 when he joined the Committee as was George Bernard...
and a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament
Scottish Youth Parliament
The Scottish Youth Parliament, also known as SYP, is a democratic, politically independent, inclusive, charity set up by a group of passionate youth workers as a national voice for young people in Scotland....
, where she served on the executive committee and was the convenor of the External Affairs Committee. She interned for John Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
for one year as his constituency assistant and subsequently was employed for a period of three years as his parliamentary assistant.
Political career
Nash was selected as the Labour Party candidate from an all-women shortlist which, at the time, proved to be a contentious issue. The constituency chairman, Brian Brady resigned over the issue. Nevertheless, 80% of the constituency Labour Party took part in the selection process. She was elected as the Member of Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts in 2010, replacing the retiring John Reid. She has a majority of 12,408 over the SNPScottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
and, at the age of 26, is currently the youngest MP in the House of Commons, also called Baby of the House
Baby of the House
Baby of the House is the unofficial title given to the youngest member of a parliamentary house. The term is most often applied to members of the British parliament.-Australia:In Australia the term is rarely used...
. The leader of the Labour MSPs in 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...
, Iain Gray
Iain Gray
Iain Gray is a Scottish politician and the Leader of Scottish Labour Party Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. Gray was elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament for the East Lothian constituency in 2007 having previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003.-Background and...
said she had a "big future in Scottish politics".
Nash is currently the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Margaret Curran
Margaret Curran
Margaret Patricia Curran is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Glasgow East since 2010, and is currently Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland...
as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and to Vernon Coaker
Vernon Coaker
Vernon Rodney Coaker is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Gedling since 1997; Coaker was appointed Minister of State for Schools and Learners in June 2009, a post he held until Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010...
as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. She served on the Finance Bill 2011 Public Bill Committee. She is a member of the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology and is also a member of the Parliamentary Space Committee.
Following the death of David Cairns MP she was elected as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for HIV and AIDS. She is also the Treasurer of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Multiple Sclerosis and the Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Sustainable Housing.
In September 2010, Nash declared in favour of David Miliband in the Labour Party leadership election. On 2 December 2010, Nash took part in a BBC Debate on age differences in politics and the wider society with Bill Cash MP. Nash has pledged to oppose the repeal of the Hunting Act 2004
Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...
, which protects foxes, hares, deer and mink from hunting with hounds.
External links
- Pamela Nash MP personal web site
- Pamela Nash MP on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- Pamela Nash, Labour candidate for Airdrie & Shotts, Robert Mitchell, Wishaw Press, 5 May 2010
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