Ross Greer
Ross John Greer (born 1 June 1994) is a Scottish Green Party politician who is a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region. Greer is the youngest ever MSP, elected at the 2016 election.
Ross Greer | |
---|---|
Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Scotland | |
Assumed office 5 May 2016 | |
Preceded by | Stewart Maxwell |
Personal details | |
Born | 1 June 1994 |
Nationality | Scottish |
Political party | Scottish Green Party |
Other political affiliations | Yes Scotland (2012–2014) |
Residence | Milngavie, Scotland |
Education | High school; did not finish at University of Strathclyde |
Education
Greer was educated at Bearsden Academy, leaving in 2012.[1][2] In S3 he led a successful coup against the older pupils in S6 who ran the Eco-Committee but never turned up.[3]
Greer was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, representing the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency 2011–13.[4] Greer joined the Scottish Green party at age 15 years.[5]
He took part in the Debating Matters competition in 2012, where he reached the National Final.[6]
He began a course of study at the University of Strathclyde, in psychology & politics, but left without graduating in December 2012 to work for Yes Scotland as their Communities Co-ordinator during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[6]
Political career
During the campaign ahead of the referendum he was Yes Scotland's youth and student co-ordinator. and was the communities co-ordinator at the pro-independence campaign Yes Scotland during the independence referendum campaign.[7] After the referendum, he was employed by the Greens in a role that involved strategy development.[8]
He stood as the Scottish Green candidate in the East Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 United Kingdom general election, securing 5th place with 804 votes (1.5%).[5] He became the Scottish Greens' party spokesman on Europe and external affairs.[9]
In March 2015, the Scottish Greens announced that Greer had been selected as the lead candidate for their West of Scotland regional list, following a ballot of their members.[10]
Ahead of the 2016 elections, Greer was critical that the general level of engagement with 16 and 17-year-olds as first-time voters had been below what was seen in the referendum.[11] On 6 May 2016, he was elected with 17,218 votes (5.3%) to the West Scotland regional list as an additional member. Greer was elected at the age of 21 years old, making him Scotland's youngest MSP.[12] Before Greer was elected, the youngest MSP had previously been Labour's Mark Griffin, who was 25 years old when he was first elected in 2011.[1]
On 29th January 2019, Greer posted a tweet calling Winston Churchill a “white supremacist mass murderer.” He went on daytime TV and was challenged on his views.
References
- Davidson, Jenni (6 May 2016). "Youngest ever MSP elected for the Scottish Greens". Holyrood.
- "Greer is unveiled as the Green Party's Westminster hope". Bearsden & Milngavie Herald. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- Greer, Ross (16 May 2020). "Ross Greer tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- Bowden, George (6 May 2016). "Scottish Election Results: Greens' Ross Greer Becomes Youngest MSP". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- Coutts, Eva (6 May 2016). "Holyrood 2016: Greens' Ross Greer, 21, becomes youngest MSP". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "People: Ross Greer". www.debatingmatters.com. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- Belgutay, Julia (13 September 2013). "Why teachers need to cast a vote for clarity". TESS. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "Election 2016: Scottish Green Ross Greer elected youngest ever MSP at 21 on West of Scotland list". The Herald. Glasgow. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "Scottish Greens consider pro-Europe campaign". The Scotsman. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "Scottish Greens regional list candidates". Holyrood. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- Brooks, Libby (3 May 2016). "Don't patronise us, Scottish teenagers tell politicians bidding for their votes". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- "Greens' Ross Greer becomes youngest MSP". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ross Greer. |