Emma Harperis aScottish National Party(SNP) politician. She has been aMember of the Scottish Parliament(MSP) for theSouth Scotlandregion since the2016 Scottish Parliament election.[1]
Emma Harper | |
|---|---|
 Harper in 2016 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forSouth Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Emma Mary Harper 1967 (age 56–57) Stranraer,Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Education | Dumfries and Galloway College of Nursing and Midwifery |
Early life
editHarper was born and raised on a farm nearStranraerwhere her father was a dairyman. She attended Stranraer Academy. In 1978, the family moved to a farm nearAnnanand she attendedAnnan Academyprior to her nurse training inDumfriesat the Royal College of Nursing and Midwifery.[2]After qualifying, she worked at theDumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.[3]
Harper has worked in hospitals in NHS Scotland and NHS England, and atCedars-Sinai Medical CenterinLos Angeles,California,United States.Her work included: transplant and trauma surgery, before going on to lead nursing surgical teams and provide specialist clinical education.[2]
Harper is a degree-registered nurse and a member of the Royal College of Nursing and the Association for Perioperative Practice.
As a keenBurnsian,Harper is past president of Dumfries Ladies Burns Club Number 1.
Political career
editHarper joined the SNP in 2010.[2]
In2015she stood for theUK Parliamentas SNP candidate forDumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale.She finished second and achieved a huge swing of +27.5% of the vote for the SNP, narrowly losing the seat by only 798 votes.[4]
In 2016 she was elected MSP to the Scottish Parliament for South Scotland (region), and was deputy convenor to the Health and Sport Committee and member of the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee.[5]
In 2019 she downplayed the issues around creating a new currency in an independent Scotland to a BBC audience, remarking that her recent holiday to Mexico demonstrated that, "plastic translates anywhere where you are"; she then claimed Scottish issued bank notes were currently being exchanged for more than English ones on the foreign exchange markets, which indicated that (in the future) "Our Scottish pounds have the propensity to be really really strong".[6][7][8]
She was the top SNP candidate on the regional list inSouth Scotlandat the2021 Scottish Parliament election.[9]
During the campaign she courted controversy when she told ITV that a hard border between an independent Scotland and England would bring opportunities, insisting: "We can show that a border will work, there are issues that have been brought to my attention that show that jobs can be created if a border is created."[10]Her party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, disavowed the remarks and claimed: "I've not seen Emma's comments directly but nobody in the SNP wants to see a border between Scotland and England."[10]In an opinion piece forThe Scotsman,former Labour MPBrian Wilsonremarked of the controversy: "First, in the real world, Scotland does more trade with Yorkshire than with China. Second, Ms Harper is a star in the SNP firmament, placed top of their regional list and a racing cert to return to Holyrood. Ye gods."[11]
Harper was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2021.
References
edit- ^"Election 2016: South Scotland. Scottish Parliament region".BBC News.6 May 2016.
- ^abcSmith, Peter (14 April 2015)."STV election profile: Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale".STV News.Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2016.Retrieved7 May2016.
- ^"MSP Emma Harper to return to nursing in coronavirus fight".ITV News.17 March 2020.
- ^Kilpatrick, Sandy (6 July 2015)."MP David Mundell's spent more than total of all his rival candidates".Daily Record.
- ^"Emma Harper".parliament.scot.
- ^@ChannelUK1 (12 May 2021)."COULD SCOTLAND'S NEW CURRENCY BE PLASTIC?The SNP's Emma harper is tipped to take over as Scotland's Finance Minis…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^Reporting Border [@ITVBorderRB] (22 April 2021)."'Jobs can be created if a border is created'. @theSNP candidate Emma Harper says her party wants 'the softest of borders' between Scotland and England & it could create local jobs #indyref2 "(Tweet). Archived fromthe originalon 22 April 2021.Retrieved22 April2021– viaTwitter.
- ^"Constituency report: Galloway & West Dumfries".ITV News.22 April 2021.
- ^Hannan, Martin (6 March 2021)."Candidates from BAME backgrounds top SNP Holyrood election lists".The National.Retrieved9 March2021.
- ^abBol, David (23 April 2021)."Sturgeon responds to SNP MSP claiming Scotland-England border would 'create jobs'".The Herald.
- ^Wilson, Brian (24 April 2021)."SNP candidate's car-crash interview about Scotland-England border got me thinking".The Scotsman.
External links
edit- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs:Emma Harper