Angela Constance

Angela Constance (born 15 July 1970) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities from May 2016 to June 2018. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Almond Valley since 2007, and has held a series of ministerial posts in the Scottish Government from 2010 to 2018.

Angela Constance MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities
In office 18 May 2016 – 26 June 2018
First Minister	Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by	Alex Neil
Succeeded by	Aileen Campbell
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
In office 21 November 2014 – 18 May 2016
First Minister	Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by	Michael Russell
Succeeded by	John Swinney
Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment
In office 22 April 2014 – 21 November 2014
First Minister	Alex Salmond
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Roseanna Cunningham
Minister for Youth Employment
In office 7 December 2011 – 22 April 2014
First Minister	Alex Salmond
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Annabelle Ewing
Minister for Children and Young People
In office 20 May 2011 – 7 December 2011
First Minister	Alex Salmond
Preceded by	Adam Ingram
Succeeded by	Aileen Campbell
Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning
In office 12 December 2010 – 20 May 2011
First Minister	Alex Salmond
Preceded by	Keith Brown
Succeeded by	Alasdair Allan
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Almond Valley Livingston (2007-2011)
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 May 2007
Preceded by	Bristow Muldoon
Majority	8,393
Personal details
Born	(1970-07-15) 15 July 1970 Blackburn, West Lothian Scotland
Nationality	Scottish
Political party	Scottish National Party
Spouse(s)	Gary Knox (m. 2000)
Children	1
Alma mater	University of Glasgow University of Stirling
Profession	Social worker

Constance stood as a candidate for Deputy leader of the SNP in the party's 2014 leadership contest, but lost to Stewart Hosie.[1]

Early life

Constance was born in Blackburn, West Lothian, the daughter of Simon Constance, a coalminer, and Mary Constance (née Colquhoun). She was raised in Addiewell and West Calder. While studying at the University of Glasgow, Constance was elected President of Glasgow University Students' Representative Council, where her sabbatical vice president was Alasdair Allan, now SNP MSP for the Western Isles.

Before her election to Holyrood, Constance worked as a social worker and was a councillor for West Lothian Council where she was the SNP spokesperson for children's services and lifelong learning. She also stood for the SNP in the 2005 Livingston by-election.

Political career

Training, Youth and Women's employment

During the 2014 SNP spring conference, First Minister and SNP leader Alex Salmond promoted Constance to the Scottish Cabinet in the position of Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment. In the position, Constance was somewhat criticised by the opposition Scottish Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament, claiming that since Constance, youth unemployment in Scotland had actually risen.[2] In response to this, Constance stated:

These figures, based on data for 2013, show that the employment prospects are improving across much of Scotland, with women’s employment driving much of this improvement. “They also show that Scotland continues to outperformed the UK across all headline labour market indicators, with a lower unemployment rate, higher employment rate and lower economic inactivity rate.[2]

Previously, Constance was a junior Scottish cabinet member.[3]

SNP Depute leadership bid, 2014

Following defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Scottish National Party leader and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond announced his resignation as SNP leader and First Minister of Scotland.[4] In the aftermath of his resignation, a leadership bid was launched, and current Deputy First Minister of Scotland and SNP Depute leader Nicola Sturgeon was widely tipped to become Salmond's successor.[5][6]

On 30 September 2014, Constance officially launched her bid to become the Depute leader of the Scottish National Party,[7][8] competing against Stewart Hosie and Keith Brown.[9] It was later revealed by Constance that she was "not seeking the position of Deputy First Minister".[10]

The results of the election were announced at the SNP Autumn Conference on 14 November, with Constance losing the contest to Stewart Hosie, after being eliminated in the first round.[11]

Cabinet Secretary for Education

Following the election of Nicola Sturgeon as the First Minister, in November 2014, Constance was promoted as the Cabinet Secretary for Education within the Scottish Cabinet.

Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities

After the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Nicola Sturgeon reshuffled her Cabinet. On 18 May, Constance was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities.

Personal life

After her election to Holyrood, Constance announced she was expecting her first child in October 2007.

References

1. "BBC News - Angela Constance calls on SNP to 'build' independence case". BBC News.
2. "Female minister promoted by Alex Salmond to attract women voters has 'record of failure'". Telegraph.co.uk. 7 May 2014.
3. "Four key things we learnt from the SNP conference". News - Telegraph Blogs.
4. Carrell, Severin; Wintour, Patrick; Mason, Rowena (19 September 2014). "Alex Salmond resigns as first minister after Scotland rejects independence". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
5. Cusick, James (21 September 2014). "Scottish referendum: Nicola Sturgeon edges closer to SNP leadership following Alex Salmond's resignation". The Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
6. "Scottish ministers 'back Sturgeon as next first minister'". BBC News. 21 September 2014.
7. "MSP Angela Constance enters race to become next SNP deputy leader". dailyrecord.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Scottish referendum: Keith Brown and Stewart Hosie launch SNP deputy bids". BBC News. 25 September 2014.
10. "Angela Constance calls on SNP to 'build' independence case". BBC News. 1 October 2014.
11. "Stewart Hosie elected deputy leader of the SNP". BBC News. 14 November 2014.

External links

• Angela Constance MSP

Scottish Parliament
Preceded by Bristow Muldoon	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Livingston 2007-2011	Succeeded by Constituency abolished
Preceded by Constituency created	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Almond Valley 2011–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Keith Brown	Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning 2010–2011	Succeeded by Alasdair Allan
Preceded by Adam Ingram	Minister for Children and Young People 2011	Succeeded by Aileen Campbell
Preceded by Office created	Minister for Youth Employment 2011–2014	Succeeded by Roseanna Cunningham
Preceded by Office created	Cabinet Secretary for Training, Youth and Women’s Employment 2014	Succeeded by Roseanna Cunningham
Preceded by Michael Russell	Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning 2014-2016	Succeeded by John Swinney
Preceded by Alex Neil	Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities 2016-2018	Succeeded by Aileen Campbell