Roseanna Cunningham
Encyclopedia
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
.
, she returned to Scotland
and was a member of the left-wing 79 Group
inside the Scottish National Party
(SNP) in the early 1980s, but avoided expulsion as she was not a member of its steering committee (future SNP Convenor Alex Salmond
by contrast who served on the 79 Group committee was expelled, whilst Margo MacDonald
resigned from the party in protest before she could be expelled).
Cunningham worked as a solicitor
and became an advocate
in 1990.
by-election
to replace the Conservative
MP, Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
, who had died. She had initially been left off the SNP's candidate shortlist over her brief relationship in the 1970s with Donald Bain, the former husband of SNP stalwart Margaret Ewing
, on the grounds that the issue could prove an embarrassment to the party. However, she was put back in contention following an intervention by the then party leader Alex Salmond, and after Ewing made clear she had no objection to Cunningham's candidature.
In 1999 she became the MSP for Perth
and continues to represent the area in the Scottish Parliament
to this day. In 2000 she was elected the SNP Senior Vice-Convener (deputy leader). Also in that year she helped establish the Scottish Left Review
publication. She stood down as an MP in 2001, to concentrate on the Scottish Parliament
.
John Swinney
announced his resignation as leader of the SNP on 22 June 2004, and on the same day Roseanna Cunningham announced that she would be a candidate in the subsequent election for the party leadership. In the early stages of the campaign she appeared to be the clear front-runner, but the entirely unexpected decision of the popular former leader Alex Salmond to enter the race just before nominations closed changed everything, and Cunningham ultimately finished a distant second.
She is sometimes known as "Republican Rose
" for her well-known support for the replacement of the monarchy
with an elected head of state
.
In December 2006 she led an unsuccessful attempt to prevent same-sex couples gaining the right to adopt
children, despite having previously been named ScotsGay
Parliamentarian of the Year in 1998.
In August 2007 she voiced her disdain nationally about a video showing pupils from Glenalmond College
, a co-educational independent boarding school in Scotland, acting out in a satirical video called "Class Wars" in which students dressed in the stereotypical attire of the Ned
subculture are hunted by pupils dressed as Aristocrats. She is quoted as saying "I suppose this video could be billed as the revent of Monty Python's upper-class twits, Doubtless it is intended as humour and irony but it comes across as brash, crass and arrogant.".
In the first reshuffle of the SNP Government in February 2009, Cunningham was appointed as Minister for the Environment
. In December 2010 she also took on portfolio responsibility for climate change, becoming Minister for the Environment and Climate Change. After the 2011 election, which saw a SNP landslide, she was appointed Minister for Community Safety
with special responsibility for tackling sectarianism
.
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Perthshire and Kinross-shire is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, having previously represented Perth
Perth (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Perth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
.
Early life
Raised in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, she returned to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and was a member of the left-wing 79 Group
79 Group
The 79 Group was an internal faction within the Scottish National Party , named after the fact that it was formed in 1979. The group sought to persuade the SNP to take an active left-wing stance, arguing that it would win more support, and were highly critical of the established SNP leaders...
inside the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) in the early 1980s, but avoided expulsion as she was not a member of its steering committee (future SNP Convenor Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
by contrast who served on the 79 Group committee was expelled, whilst Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald
Margo MacDonald MSP is a Scottish politician and former Scottish National Party MP and Deputy Leader...
resigned from the party in protest before she could be expelled).
Cunningham worked as a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and became an advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
in 1990.
Parliamentary career
Cunningham first came to prominence in 1995 when she won the bitter Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross (UK Parliament constituency)
Perth and Kinross was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
by-election
Perth and Kinross by-election, 1995
A by-election for the UK Parliament constituency of Perth and Kinross in Scotland was held on 25 May 1995, following the death of Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Fairbairn on 19 February of that year....
to replace 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...
MP, Sir Nicholas Fairbairn
Nicholas Fairbairn
Sir Nicholas Hardwick Fairbairn, QC was a British politician.He was the Conservative Member of Parliament for Kinross and Western Perthshire, elected in 1974 and 1979, and Perth and Kinross, elected 1983, 1987, and 1992. He was Solicitor General for Scotland from 1979 to 1982...
, who had died. She had initially been left off the SNP's candidate shortlist over her brief relationship in the 1970s with Donald Bain, the former husband of SNP stalwart 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...
, on the grounds that the issue could prove an embarrassment to the party. However, she was put back in contention following an intervention by the then party leader Alex Salmond, and after Ewing made clear she had no objection to Cunningham's candidature.
In 1999 she became the MSP for Perth
Perth (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Perth is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
and continues to represent the area 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...
to this day. In 2000 she was elected the SNP Senior Vice-Convener (deputy leader). Also in that year she helped establish the Scottish Left Review
Scottish Left Review
The Scottish Left Review is a bi-monthly publication of the political-left in Scotland. Established in 2000 by several figures of the Scottish left including Henry McCubbin, Jimmy Reid, Roseanna Cunningham and John McAllion it collects articles on a number of issues written by various individuals...
publication. She stood down as an MP in 2001, to concentrate on 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...
.
John Swinney
John Swinney
John Ramsey Swinney is the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth in the Scottish Government and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North, having previously represented North Tayside...
announced his resignation as leader of the SNP on 22 June 2004, and on the same day Roseanna Cunningham announced that she would be a candidate in the subsequent election for the party leadership. In the early stages of the campaign she appeared to be the clear front-runner, but the entirely unexpected decision of the popular former leader Alex Salmond to enter the race just before nominations closed changed everything, and Cunningham ultimately finished a distant second.
She is sometimes known as "Republican Rose
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
" for her well-known support for the replacement of the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
with an elected head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
.
In December 2006 she led an unsuccessful attempt to prevent same-sex couples gaining the right to adopt
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
children, despite having previously been named ScotsGay
Scotsgay
ScotsGay Magazine is a monthly magazine published in Scotland for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Its website carries textfiles of all issues and, since 2005, pdf files of the whole magazine....
Parliamentarian of the Year in 1998.
In August 2007 she voiced her disdain nationally about a video showing pupils from Glenalmond College
Glenalmond College
Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. The school's motto is Floreat Glenalmond...
, a co-educational independent boarding school in Scotland, acting out in a satirical video called "Class Wars" in which students dressed in the stereotypical attire of the Ned
Ned (Scottish)
Ned is a derogatory term applied in Scotland to hooligans, louts or petty criminals, latterly with the stereotypical implication that they wear casual sports clothes. Such usage in Glasgow dates back to the 1960s or earlier.-Early use of term:...
subculture are hunted by pupils dressed as Aristocrats. She is quoted as saying "I suppose this video could be billed as the revent of Monty Python's upper-class twits, Doubtless it is intended as humour and irony but it comes across as brash, crass and arrogant.".
In the first reshuffle of the SNP Government in February 2009, Cunningham was appointed as Minister for the Environment
Minister for the Environment
The Minister for the Environment may refer to:*Department of the Environment *The Minister in charge of the Ministry for the Environment...
. In December 2010 she also took on portfolio responsibility for climate change, becoming Minister for the Environment and Climate Change. After the 2011 election, which saw a SNP landslide, she was appointed Minister for Community Safety
Minister for Community Safety
The Minister for Community Safety is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet...
with special responsibility for tackling sectarianism
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
.