Peter Grant (politician)
Peter Grant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament for Glenrothes | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Lindsay Roy |
| Succeeded by | Richard Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1960 Coatbridge, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party (since 1987) |
| Spouse | Fiona Grant (1985–present) |
Peter Grant (born 12 October 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glenrothes from 2015 to 2024. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP).
Early life
Peter Grant was raised in Lanarkshire and moved to Glenrothes in 1983. He married Fiona who later served as a Scottish National Party councillor. He joined the Scottish National Party in 1987.[1][2][3]
Political career
Early politics
Grant served on the council in Fife from the Glenrothes and Kinglassie ward from 1992 to 2015. During his tenure on the council he served as leader of the Fife Council from 2007 to 2012, with a coalition between the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats. In 2015, he left the council so that he could focus on his campaign for a seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[1][2][4]
EU Referendum
During a speech in Parliament on Monday 5 September 2016, Peter Grant equated campaigners for leaving the European Union, to the extreme right, when he said "The referendum was provoked by the desire of the then Prime Minister to fend off a challenge from the extreme right—not only the extreme right in the Conservative party, but those who were too extreme for his party—rather than facing down the xenophobes who wanted to demonise immigration and hold immigrants responsible for all the ills in our society."[5]
House of Commons
Elections
Member of Parliament John MacDougall died in 2008, causing a by-election to be held in the Glenrothes constituency. Grant was selected to serve as the Scottish National Party's candidate, being the first candidate nominated by a party in the by-election, and was defeated by Labour nominee Lindsay Roy.[6][7] Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, stated that he was at fault for the party's defeat in the by-election.[8]
Grant was the Scottish National Party's candidate in the 2015 general election and defeated Labour nominee Melanie Ward, and Conservative nominee Alex Stewart-Clark.[9] He was re-elected in the 2017 general election against Labour nominee Altany Craik and Conservative nominee Andrew Brown.[10] He was re-elected in the 2019 general election against Labour nominee Pat Egan, Conservative nominee Amy Thomson, and Liberal Democrats nominee Jane Ann Liston.[11]
Tenure
Grant served as the Scottish National Party Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union from 20 June 2017 to 7 January 2020, until he was replaced by Philippa Whitford. He has served as the Assistant Spokesperson for the Treasury since 7 January 2020.[12]
He announced in June 2023 that he would stand down at the 2024 general election.[13]
Political positions
In July 2021, Grant apologised for a post on Twitter he made stating that "You're more right than you care to admit. Murdering babies wasn't on the Nazi manifesto." Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, stated that "We are disturbed by the suggestion from some MPs that Nazism only gradually revealed its true aims."[14]
Grant supported Nicola Sturgeon's condemnation of transphobia.[15][16]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsay Roy | 19,946 | 55.11% | +3.20% | |
| SNP | Peter Grant | 13,209 | 36.49% | +13.12% | |
| Conservative | Maurice Golden | 1,381 | 3.82% | −3.27% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harry Wills | 947 | 2.62% | −10.03% | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | Jim Parker | 296 | 0.82% | +0.82% | |
| Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 212 | 0.59% | −1.30% | |
| UKIP | Kris Seunarine | 117 | 0.32% | −0.86% | |
| Solidarity | Louise McLeary | 87 | 0.24% | +0.24% | |
| Total votes | 36,195 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 28,459 | 59.79% | +38.06% | |
| Labour | Melanie Ward | 14,562 | 30.59% | −31.75% | |
| Conservative | Alex Stewart-Clark | 3,685 | 7.74% | +0.53% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 892 | 1.87% | −5.80% | |
| Total votes | 47,598 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant (incumbent) | 17,291 | 42.80% | −16.99% | |
| Labour | Altany Craik | 14,024 | 34.71% | +4.12% | |
| Conservative | Andrew Brown | 7,876 | 19.50% | +11.76% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Bell | 1,208 | 2.99% | +1.12% | |
| Total votes | 40,399 | 100.00% | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant (incumbent) | 21,234 | 51.11% | +8.31% | |
| Labour | Pat Egan | 9,477 | 22.81% | −10.90% | |
| Conservative | Amy Thomson | 6,920 | 16.66% | −2.84% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 2,639 | 6.35% | +3.36% | |
| Brexit Party | Victor Farrell | 1,276 | 3.07% | +3.07% | |
| Total votes | 41,546 | 100.00% | |||
References
- ^ a b "Glenrothes: Candidate profiles". BBC. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Peter Grant Glenrothes". Scottish National Party. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "About Me". Peter Grant. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Grant steps down from council to concentrate on MP role". Central Fife Times. 11 July 2015. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "EU Referendum Rules". Parliament of the United Kingdom.
- ^ "SNP reveals by-election candidate". BBC. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Glenrothes - 6 November 2008" (PDF). House of Commons Library. 17 November 2009. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Glenrothes: Alex Salmond admits blame for SNP failure". The Guardian. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b "2015 General Election". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b c "2017 General Election". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "2019 General Election". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Parliamentary career". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Gilmour, Lauren (21 June 2023). "Second SNP MP to stand down at next election". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ "'Murdering babies wasn't on the Nazi manifesto': SNP MP apologises over bizarre twitter rant". The Press and Journal. 16 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "SNP MPs are falling over themselves to back trans rights and praise Nicola Sturgeon". PinkNews. 28 January 2021. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon condemns transphobia in 'message from the heart': 'No debate can be a cover for transphobia'". PinkNews. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
