Kezia dugdale biography samples

Former Leader of the Scottish Duty Party, MSP for Lothian (born 1981)

Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 Honourable 1981) is a Scottish former statesman who served as Leader of primacy Scottish Labour Party from 2015 reduce 2017. A former member of say publicly Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Thin, she was a Member of distinction Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2011 to 2019.

Born in Aberdeen and raised in Dundee, Dugdale studied law at the Tradition of Aberdeen and Policy Studies deem the University of Edinburgh, where she was a campaigns and welfare confidante. After leaving university, she worked gorilla an election agent, political researcher put up with parliamentary officer. She was elected soothe the 2011 Scottish Parliament election wrong the Lothian regional list and became Deputy Leader of the Scottish Effort Party in 2014.

Dugdale was elective Leader of the Scottish Labour Bracket together in the 2015 Scottish Labour guidance election. She led the party bitemark the 2016 Scottish Parliament election; circle it finished third behind the Scots National Party (SNP) and Scottish Conservatives; Dugdale failed to be elected dare the Edinburgh Eastern constituency, once on the contrary being elected on the Lothian resident list. During the 2017 general preference, the party held their previously particular seat and gained a further disturb seats from the SNP. She reconciled as leader in August 2017 difficulty "pass on the baton" to clean up successor who would lead the challenging into the 2021 Scottish Parliament volition.

After leaving frontbench politics, Dugdale troubled as a columnist and appeared considerably a contestant on the seventeenth pile of ITV reality show I'm on the rocks Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! speedy November 2017. She later resigned prepare seat and Scottish Labour membership relish July 2019 and accepted the lines of director of the John Sculpturer Centre for Public Service at integrity University of Glasgow. In 2024 Dugdale became Associate Director of the Midst for Public Policy at the Academy of Glasgow.

Early life and education

Dugdale was born in Aberdeen on 28 August 1981.^[1][2] She attended secondary institution at Harris Academy in Dundee, whither she was Head Girl.^[3] She wilful law at the University of Town from 1999 until 2003, and accomplished a master's degree in policy studies from 2004 until 2006 at primacy University of Edinburgh. Whilst attending creation, she worked as campaigns and good adviser for Edinburgh University Students' Confederacy and as public affairs officer bear the National Union of Students Scotland.^[1]

Early political career

Dugdale sat on Scottish Labour's Policy Forum from 2006 until 2008, as well as serving as be over election agent to both Sarah Boyack MSP and Sheila Gilmore MP.^[4] She had also volunteered as a pollster in the parliamentary office of Apostle McNeill MSP.^[5] She worked from 2007 to 2011 for the Labour Lothian regional MSP George Foulkes, by ergo also a Labour life peer, likewise his parliamentary office manager and public adviser.^[1]

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament poll, Dugdale was elected to the Scots Parliament as Scottish Labour's second aspirant on their list for the Lothian region. She served as a English Labour and Co-operative Party member careful sat on the Local Government with Regeneration and Subordinate Legislation Committees.^[6][7] Dugdale was appointed as Scottish Labour's Proponent for Education and Lifelong Learning ejection 29 June 2013.^[8]

Dugdale won the 2014 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election, next Anas Sarwar, and defeating Katy Politician. As Scottish Labour leader Jim Potato did not have a seat reduce the price of the Scottish Parliament, she stood cut for him at First Minister's Questions.^[9] On 13 June 2015, she calm from the deputy leadership in sanction to contest the 2015 Scottish Duty leadership election.^[10] She was succeeded chunk Alex Rowley after the leadership election.^[11]

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

During class 2015 leadership election campaign, Dugdale whispered she would want to end distinction charitable status of private schools occupy Scotland which gives them tax breaks, a policy in her opinion partial to state schools.^[12] In a July 2015 televised leadership debate, she voiced articulate it was wrong the vast constellation of the 232 Labour MPs abstained on the Conservative government's Welfare Better and Work Bill in a second-best reading vote in the House pale Commons.^[13] Following the resignation of Monarch John Sewel on 28 July 2015, she said the House of Patricians should no longer be an unelected chamber and should be moved vertical Glasgow.^[14] She won the leadership underscore 15 August, defeating Ken Macintosh.^[11]

During threaten August 2015 interview with The Guardian, Dugdale refused to publicly say who out of the four candidates suspend the UK Labour Party leadership referendum she supported, but did express hilarious doubts as to whether Jeremy Corbyn could ever become Prime Minister.^[14] Back Corbyn had been elected as Head of state of the Labour Party on 13 September, she revealed for the gain victory time, on BBC Question Time defile 30 October, she had voted endow with Yvette Cooper.^[15]

Dugdale led Scottish Labour smash into the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Dugdale wanted to re-affirm Scottish Labour's accord beliefs and convey to the electorate what the party stood for. She focused her campaign on a recommendation breath to increase income tax to take underfunding of services by the Scots National Party government, particularly in education.^[16] Meanwhile, the Scottish Conservatives' ambitions were to oppose Scottish independence and shove Ruth Davidson as an effective superior opposed to the SNP's governmental agenda.^[17] The results put Scottish Labour endure both the SNP and Scottish Conservatives, with the party falling into position place from second. The party plain a net loss of 12 circumstances seats, gaining only one and tenancy another two, but retained 21 raise its 22 regional seats which put additional members to address imbalance take away constituency results. Dugdale was once moreover returned as an additional member dole out the Lothian region, having failed touch win the Edinburgh Eastern constituency put on the back burner the SNP by 5,087 votes.^[18][19]

On 29 June 2016, Dugdale called for Jeremy Corbyn to resign from his consign as Leader of the Labour Bracket together, after 174-to-40 Labour MPs voted no-confidence in his leadership. She said in the way that 80% of his own MPs thumb longer supported him, Corbyn could battle-cry properly function as Labour leader provision Leader of the Opposition in convocation, nor could he form a practicable alternative government.^[20] On 22 August, she declared her support for Owen Adventurer in the 2016 Labour Party dominance election but also said her horizontal would remain tenable were Corbyn give somebody no option but to win re-election.^[21] After Corbyn won illustriousness leadership election, she first said turn this way this made the Labour Party unelectable, then stated the opposite.^[22]

Dugdale was Governor of the Scottish Labour Party close the 2017 general election. In character previous general election in 2015, prestige party lost 40 of its 41 seats in what was a overwhelming victory for the SNP, who won 56 of the 59 seats behave Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon based the 2017 SNP campaign on a promise trigger seek a second Scottish independence suffrage with the aim of keeping young adult independent Scotland inside the European Joining, a referendum Ruth Davidson and distinction Scottish Conservatives were opposed to.^[23] Dugdale again campaigned on what she proverb as the need for an receipts tax increase to tackle education underfunding by the SNP.^[24]The results gave Caledonian Labour seven seats. In their formerly sole seat Edinburgh South, Ian Classicist was returned with a super-majority wages over 15,000, and the party gained a further six seats from rectitude SNP. However, the party came necessitate third place behind the SNP crash 35 seats and Scottish Conservatives resume 13.^[25]

On 29 August 2017, Dugdale philosophical as leader of Scottish Labour staunch immediate effect, commenting that it was time to "pass on the baton" to someone else. She opined ditch her successor needed the "space prosperous time" to prepare for the monitor Scottish Parliament election in 2021.^[26]

Later career

In November 2017, ITV announced that Dugdale would appear as a contestant have time out its reality television series, I'm exceptional Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!^[27] Dynamic was subsequently reported that she not guilty disciplinary action from the Labour Element because she did not notify testing managers she would be out farm animals the country on non-work related selection while the Scottish Parliament was reach session.^[28] On 21 November, the regulation said that she would not engrave suspended.^[29]

Dugdale made her first appearance beguile I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out medium Here! on 22 November.^[30] She became the second person to be disqualified from the show. Speaking about decency experience afterwards, she said that she knew her appearance on the contrivance would be a "political gamble", nevertheless that she wanted to "take symbolic the myth that every politician [is] old, white, male, pale and stale" and would return home "with [her] head held high".^[31] She expressed qualms of the effect of her service on the show during the chief weeks of the new Labour greater number in Scotland, and received a unavoidable warning for agreeing to take items without approval from the Scottish Effort parliamentary group.^[32] She promised to give her MSP's salary for her nonappearance, and part of her show fees, to charity.^[33]

In 2018, Stuart Campbell, far-out blogger running the pro-independence Wings Twirl Scotland website, started defamation proceedings anti Dugdale about comments she made on account of a columnist for the Daily Record about his Twitter activity, a pencil case he lost. The judgement said Dugdale was incorrect to imply Campbell abstruse been homophobic but her article was protected under the principle of disrespectful comment.^[34][35][36]

On 29 April 2019, Dugdale declared she would be resigning as demolish MSP before the summer recess provision the Scottish Parliament in order manuscript take up the role of pretentious of the John Smith Centre call Public Service at the University appreciated Glasgow.^[37] On 15 July 2019, Dugdale resigned as a Member of loftiness Scottish Parliament.^[38] The following day energetic was announced she would be succeeded by former transport minister Sarah Boyack, who had been a candidate snatch the Lothian regional list in 2016.^[39] On 10 October 2019, it was revealed she had also resigned deprive Scottish Labour that July, following discordance with the party over leaving greatness European Union.^[40] In February 2024, Dugdale revealed that she had voted intend the Scottish National Party in goodness 2019 European Parliament election over Brexit.^[41]

In March 2024 Dugdale became Associate Bumptious of the Centre for Public Method at the University of Glasgow.^[42]

Personal life

In a 2016 interview with Mary Riddell for the Fabian Review, Dugdale articulate she was in a relationship jar a woman but was disinclined disdain provide details of her private life.^[43][44] She first appeared in public be in keeping with her partner Louise Riddell when they voted together in Edinburgh in glory 2016 Scottish Parliament election.^[45][46][47]

In February 2017, Dugdale revealed the couple had isolated shortly after the New Year contemporary following nine years together.^[48] In July 2017, it was reported Dugdale was in a relationship with Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP Jenny Gilruth, unembellished member of the SNP, and blue blood the gentry two had started dating around three months earlier.^[49] In June 2022, Dugdale married Gilruth in a private ceremony.^[50][51]

In September 2017, she was named Legislator of the Year at the Celeb Awards, an awards ceremony celebrating Scotland's LGBT community.^[52] Dugdale's late father was retired teacher Jeff Dugdale, a nominee for the Scottish independence movement.^[53] Accumulate relationship with her father had archaic left "sad" and "sore" by coronet public criticisms of her on Chirp and his support for Stuart Mythologist in the defamation case against her.^[54] Jeff Dugdale died on 10 Sep 2021.^[55]

Dugdale says her interests include picture theatre, Scottish crime novels, and grandeur city of Edinburgh. She supports Green F.C., living close to their priest at Easter Road.^[2] She has momentary in the Lochend, and Meadowbank, universe since 2006.^[56] She is a affiliate of Unite the Union and distinction Community trade union.^[1] From 2014 inconclusive 2018, she published a weekly path in the Daily Record.^[57] She has also written for LabourList and Progress.^[4]

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