Gil Paterson

Gilbert Martin Paterson, born in Glasgow, 1942 is the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency, which he gained from Labour on 5 May 2011.

At the 2017 General Election in the West Dunbartonshire constituency, MSP Gil Paterson gave interviews to reporters about the result, including Maxine McArthur (pictured).
Not to be confused with Gil Patterson.

Gil Paterson

MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Clydebank and Milngavie
Assumed office
5 May 2011
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for West of Scotland
In office
3 May 2007 – 5 May 2011
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Central Scotland
In office
6 May 1999 – 1 May 2003
Convenor of SNP
Scottish Parliamentary Group
Assumed office
17 May 2007
Preceded byStewart Stevenson
Personal details
Born (1942-11-11) 11 November 1942
Glasgow
Political partyScottish National Party

Previously he had been an MSP for the West of Scotland region, having been elected on 3 May 2007. From 1999 to 2003 he was an MSP for Central Scotland.

Brought up in the North of Glasgow, Paterson attended Possilpark Secondary School, before building up his own business Gil's Motor Factors.[1] He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) councillor in Strathclyde Regional Council and sat on the SNP's National Executive Committee, before being elected as one of five SNP MSPs for Central Scotland in the first election to the Scottish Parliament. During the first parliamentary term he sat on both the Local Government and Procedures committees in the Parliament.

Paterson lost his seat in Parliament when at the 2003 election only three SNP MSPs were returned for Central Scotland. He returned to running his business but stayed active in the SNP, becoming the party's vice-convenor in charge of fundraising, a position he had held previously.

Paterson was one of the heaviest critics of the leadership style of John Swinney, and in the aftermath of the 2004 European election he openly called for Swinney's resignation, which happened shortly afterwards.[2][3]

In 2006, Gil Paterson was selected to stand as candidate for the Clydebank and Milngavie Scottish Parliamentary constituency.

In the current session of the Scottish Parliament, Gil was elected as the SNP Group convener. He is also a member of two committees, 'European and External Relations' and 'Subordinate Legislation', the latter of which he is deputy-convener.

Brexit

MSP Gil Paterson voted remain in the June 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership. He has been active in raising Brexit concerns for business and economics in Scotland, including questioning First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister's Question Time in the Scottish Parliament.[4]

Free tuition

Mr Paterson is a supporter of free tuition fees in Scotland, and appeared in the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald in August 2017 asking for clarity from East Dunbartonshire MP Jo Swinson, a Liberal Democrat, about her stance following comments made by her party leader, Vince Cable, in the Press and Journal.[5]

References
  1. Gil's Motor Factors web site
  2. Politics review: April to June; BBC News, 29 December 2004
  3. Senior nationalist makes public call for resignation of Swinney; Daily Telegraph, 18 June 2004
  4. Gil Paterson MSP (8 September 2016), Gil Paterson MSP questions Nicola Sturgeon on Brexit and business, retrieved 16 August 2017
  5. "Jo Swinson urged to come clean on tuition fees". www.milngavieherald.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2017.


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