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Kezia Dugdale

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Kezia Dugdale
Official portrait, 2016
Leader of the Opposition in Scotland
In office
13 December 2014 – 6 May 2016[a]
MonarchElizabeth II
First MinisterNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byJackie Baillie
Succeeded byRuth Davidson
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office
15 August 2015 – 29 August 2017
DeputyAlex Rowley
UK party leader
Preceded byJim Murphy
Succeeded byRichard Leonard
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office
13 December 2014 – 13 June 2015
LeaderJim Murphy
Preceded byAnas Sarwar
Succeeded byAlex Rowley
Member of the Scottish Parliament
forLothian
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
5 May 2011 – 15 July 2019
Succeeded bySarah Boyack[b]
Scottish Labour portfolios
2016–2017Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
2013–2014Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
Personal details
Born
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale

(1981-08-28)28 August 1981(age 42)
Aberdeen,Scotland
Political partyIndependent(since 2019)
Other political
affiliations		Labour and Co-operative(until 2019)
Spouse
​
(m.2022)​
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
University of Edinburgh
WebsiteArchived website

Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale(born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served asLeader of the Scottish Labour Partyfrom2015to2017.A former member of theScottish Labour PartyandCo-operative Party,she was aMember of the Scottish Parliament(MSP) for theLothianregion from2011to 2019.

Born inAberdeenand raised inDundee,Dugdale studied law at theUniversity of Aberdeenand Policy Studies at theUniversity of Edinburgh,where she was a campaigns and welfare adviser. After leaving university, she worked as an election agent, political researcher and parliamentary officer. She was elected at the2011 Scottish Parliament electionon theLothianregional list and becameDeputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Partyin2014.

Dugdale was electedLeader of the Scottish Labour Partyin the2015 Scottish Labour leadership election.She led the party into the2016 Scottish Parliament election;where it finished third behind theScottish National Party(SNP) andScottish Conservatives;Dugdale failed to be elected to theEdinburgh Easternconstituency, once again being elected on the Lothian regional list. During the2017 general election,the party held their previously sole seat and gained a further six seats from the SNP. She resigned as leader in August 2017 to "pass on the baton" to a successor who would lead the party into the2021 Scottish Parliament election.

After leaving frontbench politics, Dugdale worked as a columnist and appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth series of ITV reality showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!in November 2017. She later resigned her seat and Scottish Labour membership in July 2019 and accepted the role of director of theJohn SmithCentre for Public Service at theUniversity of Glasgow.

Early life and education

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Dugdale was born inAberdeenon 28 August 1981.[1][2]She attendedsecondary schoolatHarris AcademyinDundee,where she wasHead Girl.[3]She studied law at theUniversity of Aberdeenfrom 1999 until 2003, and completed amaster's degreeinpolicy studiesfrom 2004 until 2006 at theUniversity of Edinburgh.Whilst attending university, she worked as campaigns and welfare adviser forEdinburgh University Students' Associationand as public affairs officer at theNational Union of Students Scotland.[1]

Early political career

[edit]
Official parliamentary portrait, 2011

Dugdale sat onScottish Labour's Policy Forumfrom 2006 until 2008, as well as serving as anelection agentto bothSarah BoyackMSP andSheila GilmoreMP.[4]She had also volunteered as a researcher in the parliamentary office ofPauline McNeillMSP.[5]She worked from 2007 to 2011 for the LabourLothianregional MSPGeorge Foulkes,by then also a Labour life peer, as his parliamentary office manager and political adviser.[1]

In the2011 Scottish Parliament election,Dugdale was elected to theScottish Parliamentas Scottish Labour's second candidate on their list for theLothian region.She served as a Scottish Labour andCo-operative Partymember and sat on the Local Government and Regeneration and Subordinate Legislation Committees.[6][7]Dugdale was appointed as Scottish Labour's Spokesperson for Education and Lifelong Learning on 29 June 2013.[8]

Dugdale won the2014 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election,succeedingAnas Sarwar,and defeatingKaty Clark.As Scottish Labour leaderJim Murphydid not have a seat in the Scottish Parliament, she stood in for him atFirst Minister's Questions.[9]On 13 June 2015, she resigned from the deputy leadership in order to contest the2015 Scottish Labour leadership election.[10]She was succeeded byAlex Rowleyafter the leadership election.[11]

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

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During the 2015 leadership election campaign, Dugdale said she would want to end thecharitable statusofprivate schools in Scotlandwhich gives themtax breaks,a policy in her opinion unfair to state schools.[12]In a July 2015 televised leadership debate, she said it was wrong the vast majority of the232 Labour MPsabstained on theConservative government'sWelfare Reform and Work Billin asecond readingvote in the House of Commons.[13]Following the resignation ofLord John Sewelon 28 July 2015, she said theHouse of Lordsshould no longer be an unelected chamber and should be moved to Glasgow.[14]She won the leadership on 15 August, defeatingKen Macintosh.[11]

During an August 2015 interview withThe Guardian,Dugdale refused to publicly say who out of the four candidates in theUK Labour Party leadership electionshe supported, but did express serious doubts as to whetherJeremy Corbyncould ever becomePrime Minister.[14]After Corbyn had been elected asLeader of the Labour Partyon 13 September, she revealed for the first time, onBBC Question Timeon 30 October, she had voted forYvette Cooper.[15]

Dugdale back in the Scottish Parliament following her defeat in the 2016 election

Dugdale led Scottish Labour into the2016 Scottish Parliament election.Dugdale wanted to re-affirm Scottish Labour's core beliefs and convey to the electorate what the party stood for. She focused her campaign on a proposal to increase income tax to tackle underfunding of services by theScottish National Partygovernment, particularly in education.[16]Meanwhile, theScottish Conservatives' ambitions were to oppose Scottish independence and pushRuth Davidsonas an effective leader opposed to the SNP's governmental agenda.[17]The results put Scottish Labour behind both the SNP and Scottish Conservatives, with the party falling into third place from second. The party made a net loss of 12 constituency seats, gaining only one and holding another two, but retained 21 of its 22 regional seats which assign additional members to address imbalance in constituency results. Dugdale was once again returned as an additional member for the Lothian region, having failed to win theEdinburgh Easternconstituency from the SNP by 5,087 votes.[18][19]

On 29 June 2016, Dugdale called for Jeremy Corbyn to resign from his position as Leader of the Labour Party, after 174-to-40 Labour MPs voted no-confidence in his leadership. She said when 80% of his own MPs no longer supported him, Corbyn could not properly function as Labour leader orLeader of the Oppositionin parliament, nor could he form a potential alternative government.[20]On 22 August, she declared her support forOwen Smithin the2016 Labour Party leadership electionbut also said her position would remain tenable were Corbyn to win re-election.[21]After Corbyn won the leadership election, she first said that this made the Labour Party unelectable, then stated the opposite.[22]

Dugdale wasLeader of the Scottish Labour Partyduring the2017 general election.In theprevious general election in 2015,the party lost 40 of its 41 seats in what was alandslide victory for the SNP,who won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon based the 2017 SNP campaign on a promise to seek asecond Scottish independence referendumwith the aim of keeping anindependent Scotland inside the European Union,a referendum Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservatives were opposed to.[23]Dugdale again campaigned on what she saw as the need for an income tax increase to tackle education underfunding by the SNP.[24]The resultsgave Scottish Labour seven seats. In their previously sole seatEdinburgh South,Ian Murraywas returned with a super-majority of over 15,000, and the party gained a further six seats from the SNP. However, the party came in third place behind the SNP with 35 seats and Scottish Conservatives with 13.[25]

On 29 August 2017, Dugdale resigned as leader ofScottish Labourwith immediate effect, commenting that it was time to "pass on the baton" to someone else. She opined that her successor needed the "space and time" to prepare for thenext Scottish Parliament election in 2021.[26]

Later career

[edit]

In November 2017,ITVannounced that Dugdale would appear as a contestant on its reality television series,I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here![27]It was subsequently reported that she faced disciplinary action from the Labour Party because she did not notify party managers she would be out of the country on non-work related business while the Scottish Parliament was in session.[28]On 21 November, the party said that she would not be suspended.[29]

Dugdale made her first appearance onI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!on 22 November.[30]She became the second person to be eliminated from the show. Speaking about the experience afterwards, she said that she knew her appearance on the programme would be a "political gamble", but that she wanted to "take on the myth that every politician [is] old, white, male, pale and stale" and would return home "with [her] head held high".[31]She expressed regrets of the effect of her appearances on the show during the first weeks of the new Labour leadership in Scotland, and received a written warning for agreeing to take part without approval from the Scottish Labour parliamentary group.[32]She promised to donate her MSP's salary for her absence, and part of her show fees, to charity.[33]

In 2018,Stuart Campbell,a blogger running the pro-independence Wings Over Scotland website, started defamation proceedings against Dugdale about comments she made as a columnist for theDaily Recordabout his Twitter activity, a case he lost. The judgement said Dugdale was incorrect to imply Campbell had been homophobic but her article was protected under the principle of fair comment.[34][35][36]

On 29 April 2019, Dugdale announced she would be resigning as an MSP before the summer recess of the Scottish Parliament in order to take up the role of director of theJohn SmithCentre for Public Service at theUniversity of Glasgow.[37]On 15 July 2019, Dugdale resigned as a Member of the Scottish Parliament.[38]The following day it was announced she would be succeeded by former transport ministerSarah Boyack,who had been a candidate on theLothian regional listin 2016.[39]On 10 October 2019, it was revealed she had also resigned from Scottish Labour that July, following disagreement with the party over leaving the European Union.[40]In February 2024, Dugdale revealed that she had voted for theScottish National Partyin the2019 European Parliament electionover Brexit.[41]

Personal life

[edit]

In a 2016 interview withMary Riddellfor theFabian Review,Dugdale said she was in a relationship with a woman but was disinclined to provide details of her private life.[42][43]She first appeared in public with her partner Louise Riddell when they voted together in Edinburgh in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.[44][45][46]

In February 2017, Dugdale revealed the couple had separated shortly after the New Year and following nine years together.[47]In July 2017, it was reported Dugdale was in a relationship withMid Fife and GlenrothesMSPJenny Gilruth,a member of the SNP, and the two had started dating around four months earlier.[48]In June 2022, Dugdale married Gilruth in a private ceremony.[49][50]

In September 2017, she was named Politician of the Year at the Icon Awards, an awards ceremony celebrating Scotland's LGBT community.[51]Dugdale's late father was retired teacher Jeff Dugdale, a campaigner for theScottish independencemovement.[52]Her relationship with her father had been left "sad" and "sore" by his public criticisms of her on Twitter and his support for Stuart Campbell in the defamation case against her.[53]Jeff Dugdale died on 10 September 2021.[54]

Dugdale says her interests include the theatre,Scottish crime novels,and the city of Edinburgh. She supportsHibernian F.C.,living close to their ground atEaster Road.[2]She has lived in theLochend,andMeadowbank,area since 2006.[55]She is a member ofUnite the Unionand theCommunitytrade union.[1]From 2014 until 2018, she published a weekly column in theDaily Record.[56]She has also written forLabourListandProgress.[4]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^As acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party,Iain Grayled the opposition in Scotland from 13 June to 15 August 2015 until Dugdale'selection as party leader.
  2. ^Normally, regional MSPs do not have individual predecessors and successors. However, Dugdale retired her seat during a sitting parliament so was succeeded by Boyack.

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcd"Kezia Dugdale".Scottish Parliament.5 June 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 20 July 2014.
  2. ^ab"Kezia Dugdale: Easter Road project is a game changer".Edinburgh Evening News.19 March 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 11 April 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  3. ^Ogston, Graeme."City education chief denies snubbing Kezia Dugdale over visit to old school".The Courier.Archived fromthe originalon 23 January 2015.Retrieved16 February2015.
  4. ^ab"People: Kezia Dugdale".Scottish Labour Party. Archived fromthe originalon 26 March 2016.
  5. ^"Independence First, Scotland Second".Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2016.
  6. ^"The Scottish Parliament: – Committees – Local Government and Regeneration".10 September 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2011.
  7. ^"The Scottish Parliament: – Committees – Subordinate Legislation".webarchive.parliament.uk.Archived fromthe originalon 15 October 2011.
  8. ^"Johann Lamont in Scottish Labour front bench shake-up".BBC News.28 June 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2013.Retrieved18 June2016.
  9. ^"MP Jim Murphy named Leader of Scottish Labour".BBC News. 13 December 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2014.Retrieved29 December2014.
  10. ^"Scottish Labour agree to swathe of party reforms – and new leader will be announced on 15 August".LabourList.13 June 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 13 June 2015.Retrieved13 June2015.
  11. ^ab"Dugdale named Scottish Labour leader".BBC News. 15 August 2015.Retrieved25 January2019.
  12. ^Paul Cardwell (22 June 2015)."Private schools row reignited by Labour candidate".Third Force News.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  13. ^"Scottish Labour leadership debate: Labour Party 'should not split'".BBC News. 27 July 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 14 August 2015.
  14. ^abBrooks, Libby (2 August 2015)."Kezia Dugdale: Corbyn win could leave Labour 'carping on sidelines'".The Observer.Archivedfrom the original on 26 April 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  15. ^Eve Hartley (30 October 2015)."BBC Question Time Audience Meets Kezia Dugdale's Rallying Cry With Defiant, Awkward Silence".The Huffington Post UK.Archivedfrom the original on 21 April 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  16. ^Carrell, Severin (27 April 2016)."Scottish Labour puts 50p top tax rate at heart of election campaign".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved16 October2019.
  17. ^"At-a-glance: Scottish Conservative manifesto".13 April 2016.Retrieved16 October2019.
  18. ^"Scottish Parliament election 2016 results".BBC News.Retrieved16 October2019.
  19. ^"Kezia Dugdale backed to remain Labour leader despite vote collapse".MFR.6 May 2016.Retrieved16 October2019.
  20. ^"Kezia Dugdale calls on Corbyn to resign after no confidence vote".28 June 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2016.
  21. ^Gayle, Damien (22 August 2016)."Scottish Labour leader backs Owen Smith against Jeremy Corbyn".Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2016 – via The Guardian.
  22. ^"Kezia Dugdale faces revolt after chaotic flip-flop on Jeremy Corbyn".Herald Scotland.25 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2016.Retrieved25 September2016.
  23. ^Sim, Philip (19 April 2017)."Election 2017: The battle in Scotland".Retrieved16 October2019.
  24. ^Carrell, Severin (12 May 2017)."Scottish Labour stands by tax rise policy for middle earners".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved16 October2019.
  25. ^"Results of the 2017 General Election".BBC News.Retrieved16 October2019.
  26. ^"Kezia Dugdale quits as Scottish Labour leader".BBC News. 29 August 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2017.
  27. ^"Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale to join I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here in last minute call-up".HeraldScotland.17 November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2017.Retrieved18 November2017.
  28. ^"No permission for Kezia Dugdale to appear in I'm a Celebrity".BBC News. 20 November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2017.Retrieved20 November2017.
  29. ^"Kezia Dugdale avoids suspension over I'm A Celebrity appearance".Sky News.Sky UK. 21 November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2017.Retrieved21 November2017.
  30. ^"Dugdale enters I'm a Celebrity jungle".BBC News. 22 November 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2017.Retrieved24 November2017.
  31. ^"Dugdale says jungle was 'political gamble'".BBC News. 4 December 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 7 December 2017.Retrieved9 December2017.
  32. ^"Dugdale reprimanded over I'm a Celebrity".BBC News. 13 December 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2017.Retrieved13 December2017.
  33. ^Brooks, Libby (13 December 2018)."Kezia Dugdale 'deeply regrets' effect of Celebrity trip on successor's first weeks in job".The Guardian.Retrieved29 September2018.
  34. ^Brooks, Libby (12 July 2018)."Wings Over Scotland blogger's defamation case against MSP starts".The Guardian.Retrieved29 September2018.
  35. ^Gordon, Tom (29 September 2018)."Kezia Dugdale gets new help to defend Wings legal case".The Herald.Scotland.Retrieved29 September2018.
  36. ^"Kezia Dugdale wins Wings Over Scotland defamation case".17 April 2019.Retrieved17 April2019.
  37. ^"Kezia Dugdale: Former Scottish Labour leader to quit Holyrood".BBC News. 29 April 2019.Retrieved29 April2019.
  38. ^"Kezia Dugdale ceased to be a Member of the Scottish Parliament on the 15th of July 2019".Kezia Dugdale.Archived fromthe originalon 20 July 2019.Retrieved9 August2020.
  39. ^"Sarah Boyack to return to Holyrood as Labour MSP".BBC News. 30 April 2019.Retrieved2 May2019.
  40. ^"Kezia Dugdale quits Scottish Labour over Brexit".10 October 2019.Retrieved11 October2019.
  41. ^"Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale admits voting SNP".BBC News.5 February 2024.Retrieved15 February2024.
  42. ^Riddell, Mary (1 April 2016)."The long road: interview with Kezia Dugdale".Fabian Review.Fabian Society.Archivedfrom the original on 7 December 2016.Retrieved20 November2016.
  43. ^"Kezia Dugdale clarifies independence stance".BBC News. 1 April 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 3 April 2016.Retrieved3 April2016.
  44. ^Williams, Martin (5 May 2016)."Kezia Dugdale makes public appearance at the polls with her partner".The Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  45. ^Ramaswamy, Chitra (7 May 2016)."Dugdale and Davidson: ordinary photos that tell an extraordinary story".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 14 June 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  46. ^Moss, Stephen (11 July 2016)."I don't want to choose between two unions".The Guardian.Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2016.Retrieved15 July2016.
  47. ^"Kezia Dugdale: 'In 2017 my relationship ended and I lost best friend Gordon'".BBC News. 24 February 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2017.Retrieved15 July2017.
  48. ^"Kezia Dugdale in relationship with SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth".BBC News. 15 July 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 15 July 2017.Retrieved15 July2017.
  49. ^Ross, Calum."Kezia Dugdale and Jenny Gilruth feeling 'blessed' after Fife wedding".The Courier.Retrieved13 June2022.
  50. ^"SNP transport minister Jenny Gilruth and former Scottish Labour Kezia Dugdale leader marry".www.scotsman.com.13 June 2022.Retrieved13 June2022.
  51. ^Foote, Chris (16 September 2017)."Kezia Dugdale wins politician of the year at LGBT awards".STV News.Archivedfrom the original on 16 October 2017.Retrieved15 October2017.
  52. ^"Elgin legend Jeff Dugdale lays down the law to daughter Kezia".www.insidemoray.com.7 April 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 30 August 2017.
  53. ^"Kezia Dugdale 'sad' and 'sore' over end of relationship with her dad".www.scotsman.com.19 June 2019.Retrieved10 August2019.
  54. ^Whitfield, Alistair (17 September 2021)."Tributes paid to Elgin High stalwart Jeff Dugdale".Northern Scot.Highland News and Media Ltd.Retrieved25 September2021.
  55. ^"Candidates for 2016".Scottish Labour Blog.Archived fromthe originalon 1 April 2016.Retrieved18 June2016.
  56. ^Dugdale, Kezia (25 September 2018)."It's been a privilege to write for the Record - now back to the day job".dailyrecord.Retrieved10 March2020.
[edit]
Scottish Parliament
Preceded by Member of the Scottish ParliamentforLothian
2011–2019 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Deputy Leader of theScottish Labour Party
2014–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of theScottish Labour Party
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
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