John McNally (politician)

John McNally
MP
Member of Parliament
for Falkirk
Assumed office
8 May 2015
Preceded by Eric Joyce
Majority 4,923
Personal details
Born (1951-02-01) 1 February 1951
Denny, Scotland
Political party Scottish National Party

John McNally (born 1951) is a Scottish National Party politician. At the 2015 general election he was elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Falkirk. He won 57.7% of the vote, ahead of candidates including former Labour MSP Karen Whitefield and UK Independence Party MEP David Coburn.[1]

Political career

McNally joined the SNP in 2000.[2] He first became an elected representative in Falkirk council after winning the Herbertshire by-election in 2005.[3] Until this point, the SNP were unable to make a breakthrough in this area.[4]

He stood as a candidate in the Falkirk constituency in the 2010 general election, finishing second behind Labour's Eric Joyce.[5]

In 2015, McNally was elected with a vote of 34,831, a majority of 19,701 over his nearest rival.[6] These numbers were the largest vote for a Scottish MP in the 2015 General Election, the largest majority for a Scottish MP in the 2015 General Election,[2] the 93rd largest majority in the UK in 2015, and the highest number of votes polled for any SNP candidate in any election in the history of the party.

McNally retained his Falkirk seat in the 2017 general election with a vote of 20,952 and a reduced majority of 4,923.[7]

On the 18th of October 2017, McNally attracted media attention when during Prime Minister's Questions he held out a red card in the Chamber while questioning why Scottish Conservative MP Douglass Ross had skipped a welfare debate to act as an assistant referee in a Champions League football match in Spain.[8][9] He asked Prime Minister Theresa May, "What signal does she think this sends to hard working members of the public who are expected to turn up for their day job or face sanctions?" May responded that Scottish Conservative MPs had done "more" for the interests of Scotland than the SNP had ever done.[10][11]

He is the SNP Spokesperson for the Environment,[12] and has drawn attention to issues such as unsustainable fishing and proper disposal of recyclable waste.[13][14]

He was one of 114 MPs who voted against the triggering of Article 50.[15]

Personal life

A barber shop owner for over 30 years from Denny, he and his wife Sandra have two children.[16]

In 2016 McNally revealed that he had suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a rented house in London, and claimed that only a "rickety window" had prevented him from dying by ventilating the property. He used the experience to highlight the need for carbon monoxide detectors.[17]

He is a supporter of Arthritis Research UK.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Falkirk 2015 General Election results". BBC. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 Buchanan, Jill (14 May 2015). "Barber John McNally cuts Labour in Falkirk and wins largest majority in Scotland for SNP". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Coulter, Laura (18 August 2005). "SNP romps to massive by-election victory". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Johnny4Falkirk BIO". FK1 Biz. 12 May 2015. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. ↑ McCall, Chris (16 January 2015). "John McNally chosen as SNP General Election candidate for Falkirk". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Falkirk County Election Results 2015". Falkirk Council. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Falkirk parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  8. ↑ Mann, Sebastian (2017-10-19). "Tory MP Douglas Ross skips welfare vote to be linesman at Barcelona football match". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  9. ↑ "'Red card' for refereeing Tory MP". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  10. ↑ "Tory MP Shown Red Card At PMQs After Skipping Universal Credit Debate To Referee Football Match". HuffPost UK. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  11. ↑ "SNP MP brandishes red card at Theresa May over linesman Tory MP Douglas Ross". The Scottish Sun. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  12. ↑ "John McNally MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  13. ↑ "Tesco, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have raised major concerns about 'sustainable' tuna". The Independent. 2018-01-17. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  14. ↑ "Scots urged to recycle more food waste to help reduce council cuts". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  15. ↑ "Full list of MPs who voted against triggering Article 50". TotalPolitics.com. 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
  16. ↑ Buchanan, Jill (8 May 2015). "Landslide win for SNP in Falkirk". Falkirk Herald. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  17. ↑ "How draughty windows saved SNP MP John McNally's life - Sunday Post". Sunday Post. 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  18. ↑ "Who are your Arthritis Champions? | Arthritis Research UK". www.arthritisresearchuk.org. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Eric Joyce		 Member of Parliament
for Falkirk
2015–present		 Incumbent
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