Jean Urquhart
| Jean Urquhart | |
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| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Highlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) |
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In office 6 May 2011 – 23 March 2016 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 May 1949 |
| Political party |
RISE - Scotland's Left Alliance Independent Scottish National Party (until 2012) |
| Website | jeanurquhart |
Jean Urquhart (born 17 May 1949) is a Scottish politician. She was formerly a member of the Scottish Parliament, first elected in 2011 for the Highlands and Islands region as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member, then continuing to sit as an independent after she left the SNP in October 2012. She had been a SNP councillor at the Highland Council from 2003 to 2011.
She was born on 17 May 1949 in West Lothian, the daughter of an agricultural engineer. She was educated at Lindsay High School, Bathgate.
In 1999, she stood unsuccessfully as the SNP candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. In the 2003 Parliament election she was eighth on the SNP’s regional list, with only two of these getting seats.
In the 2003 election for the Highland Council she became a SNP member for the Lochbroom Ward. In 2007 she was returned as councillor for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh. She was then named as vice-convener to lead an Independent/ SNP administration. In 2009 the Steering Group of the UK's first ever Housing Fair appointed her as its chair when this event was held near Inveness.
In the 2011 Scottish Parliament Election she stood as the SNP candidate for Shetland. She was elected from the regional list, becoming a SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Highlands and Islands. She was a member of the Scottish National Party until October 2012, when she resigned from the party over the change to the party's NATO policy. She continued as an independent. In 2014, after Urquhart intervened, the Post Office Ltd made its mortgage service available to people in Bute, Lewis, Harris, Orkney, Shetland, Arran, Mull and Islay. in 2015 she raised the issue of the safety of sex workers, suggesting that legislation could be introduced that would enable some transformative actions be taken.
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