Alasdair Allan
Alasdair Allan MSP | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Western Isles | |
| Assumed office 3 May 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Alasdair Morrison |
| Majority | 687 (5.0%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 6, 1971 Ashkirk, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
Dr Alasdair Allan (born May 6 1971) is a Scottish National Party politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Western Isles since 2007. He authored the booklet Talking Independence, which sought to answer questions about Scottish independence, ranging from "What will I pay in tax?" to "Will I still be able to visit relatives in England?" and "Will we still get Eastenders?".
A native of Ashkirk, near Selkirk, Alasdair Allan attended Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities and devoted his time and employment to the Scottish National Party[1] (SNP) in Peterhead, subsequently becoming assistant to Michael Russell MSP. Allan was the SNP candidate for Gordon at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. As National Secretary of the SNP, he was responsible in July 2004 for the expulsion of Campbell Martin MSP from the party after Martin had claimed that there was a case for supporters of independence not voting SNP. [2]
Alasdair Allan was next in line to become a list MSP for North East Scotland when Richard Lochhead resigned to fight the Moray by-election, however he decided instead to devote himself to contesting the Western Isles, a key Labour-SNP marginal seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election. He relocated to Lewis and resigned his post as SNP National Secretary.[3] This move proved successful, as he was elected with 46.6% of the vote — a 5.4% swing from Labour.
He is a speaker and strong supporter of the Scottish Gaelic and Lowland Scots languages.