Carolyn Leckie
| Carolyn Leckie | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland | |
| In office 1 May 2003 – 3 May 2007 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 March 1965 |
| Political party | Scottish Socialist Party |
| Spouse(s) | none (divorced) |
| Children | 2 daughters |
| Residence | East Kilbride |
Carolyn Leckie (born 5 March 1965) is a Scottish Socialist Party politician, a former co-chair of the party, and former member of the Scottish Parliament.
Leckie grew up in Glasgow, the daughter of a shipyard worker, but she now lives in East Kilbride. Before she became an MSP she was a midwife and a local union leader who represented thousands of hospital workers. She is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies).
She was elected as an MSP in the Scottish parliament election, 2003 for the Central region, but she lost her seat in the Scottish parliament election, 2007.
Campaigning
Just before election to Holyrood, she led several victorious strikes against low pay - the most recent involving 300 ancillary workers against the French multinational, Sodexho. As an MSP she was a strong supporter of the Nursery Nurses campaigning for higher pay. On 20 May 2004, after attempting to raise a point of order about the strike at a time that the Presiding Officer determined was inappropriate, she was told to leave the chamber.[1]
She was active within the parliament campaigning for an end to the cuts and closures in hospital services across Scotland.
On 20 January 2005 she was jailed for seven days for non-payment of a fine, arising from a protest outside Faslane nuclear base. She faced the possibility of being removed from the register of midwives by her professional body, but the disciplinary action has since been dropped. In January 2007 she was arrested but not charged for taking part in an anti-nuclear demonstration at Faslane as part of the Faslane 365 campaign.
Other information
Leckie was co-chair of the SSP for several years. She stood down at its annual conference in March 2006, stating that it was time to hand the post over to a lay member of the party, but she was easily elected as an ordinary member of its executive committee.
She was one of several members who gave evidence in the Sheridan v News International defamation action. During the trial Tommy Sheridan's counsel alleged that Alan McCombes and Carolyn Leckie were lovers and "had wanted to take over at the top".[2]
At the SSP conference in 2008 Leckie declined nomination for any national posts within the party, but remains an activist within the party, particularly within the Socialist Women's Network.
Since September 2012, Leckie has been involved in the Women for Independence campaign for Scottish independence.[3][4]
References
- ↑ Defiant MSP ordered from chamber
- ↑ "Sheridan 'owned up back in 2002 that he had gone to swingers' club'" The Scotsman 8 July 2006
- ↑ "Scottish independence: Women encouraged to vote yes". 2012-09-30. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ "Campaign to drive women to vote for independence backed by former Jack McConnell aide". 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
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