Chris Stephens (politician)

Chris Stephens
MP
Member of Parliament
for Glasgow South West
Assumed office
8 May 2015
Preceded by Ian Davidson
Majority 60
Personal details
Born Christopher Charles Stephens
(1973-03-20) 20 March 1973
Glasgow, Scotland
Political party Scottish National Party
Website www.chrisstephens.scot

Christopher Charles Stephens (born 20 March 1973)[1] is a Scottish trade unionist and Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who is the current MP for the Glasgow South West constituency, elected at the 2015 general election.

Early life

Stephens was born in Glasgow and was educated at Trinity High School in Renfrew.[2] He joined the SNP in 1989, aged sixteen.

Trade union activism

Stephens was employed by Glasgow City Council. He was a senior UNISON activist in the city. He has represented numerous workers over the last decade, and has campaigned on issues such as equal pay, disability discrimination, and pensions.

Political career

Previously Stephens was the secretary of the SNP Trade Union Group,[3] a member of the party's National Executive Committee,[4] and the convener of the SNP's Glasgow Pollok Constituency Association.

He first stood for the UK Parliament at the 2001 General Election, contesting the Hamilton North and Bellshill constituency. He contested the Glasgow Pollok constituency at the 2007 and 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. In 2011 he came within 623 votes of taking the seat from Johann Lamont.

Stephens was 6th on the list of SNP candidates for the six Scottish seats in the 2014 European Parliament election,[5] although as only the first two SNP candidates were elected, Stephens was not elected.[6]

He was elected to the UK Parliament in 2015, winning the contest for the Glasgow South West constituency.[7]

Stephens is a vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on South Africa[8] and Chair of the Public and Commercial Services Union Parliamentary Group.[9] Until April 2018, Stephens employed his wife as his Parliamentary Assistant.[10]

In October 2016, Stephens was reported to have signed the highest number of Early Day Motions of any Member of Parliament.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Birth certificate of Christopher Charles Stephens, 20 March 1973, Glasgow District 2326/89 8797 – National Records of Scotland
  2. ↑ "Analysis: SNP bucks trend for privately educated MPs". David Leask. The Herald. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Paterson, Stewart (23 February 2015). "SNP hope yes factor can win in South West". Evening Times. Newsquest. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Stephens, Chris (14 November 2014). "Chris Stephens: Trade union value in SNP future". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Hudghton and Smith to stand for SNP at European Parliament elections". STV News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "European Parliament, Elections Scotland, Statement of Parties and Individual Candidates Nominated and Notice of Poll, 2014" (PDF). 2014-04-24.
  7. ↑ "Election 2015: Glasgow South West: Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Commons, The Committee Office, House of. "House of Commons - Register Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups as at 12 October 2016: South Africa". www.publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  9. ↑ 8, pixl. "Document Summary - PCS". www.pcs.org.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Commons, House of. "House of Commons - The Register of Members' Financial Interests (16 July 2018: Stephens, Chris )". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
  11. ↑ Ottewell, David (2016-10-18). "I second that motion: SNP MPs falling over themselves to register support for worthy causes". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2018-08-07.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Ian Davidson		 Member of Parliament
for Glasgow South West
2015–present		 Incumbent
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