Trish Godman

Patricia "Trish" Godman (born 31 October 1939, Govan, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Labour politician. She was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for West Renfrewshire constituency from the Scottish Parliament general election, 1999 until her retirement in 2011.

Before entering the Scottish Parliament Godman was a Glasgow City councillor and before that she was a social worker working in the East End of Glasgow from 1979–89. After leaving St Gerard's Senior Secondary School, Glasgow, aged 15, she worked with a charity for some time, as a waitress, in a bar, insurance collector and a house mother in a list 'D' school. She later attended Jordanhill College where she trained as a social worker. From 2003–11 she was a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

Personal life

Her husband is Norman Godman, who was a Member of Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde and its predecessor seat from 1983 to 2001. She has three sons, one of whom is Gary Mulgrew, one of the NatWest Three.

Controversy

Expenses claim

While acting as the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, she charged the taxpayer around £30,000 for hotel bills although she was renting a flat from her son Gary Mulgrew.

She did not qualify for the rental expenses allowance as her main residence in Glasgow was too close to Holyrood to qualify, but claimed rent rather than hotel expenses. This became headline news in the press at the time when the expenses scandal was news. She was entitled to an overnight expenses allowance that permitted MSPs to recoup expenses for each night, which she had paid for the rent of the apartment. It was confirmed that she had neither broken the Parliamentary rules, nor benefited in any way.^[1]

In 2010, she proposed a controversial law to criminalise prostitution in Scotland which was defeated as MSPs agreed it would push the trade underground.

In 2011, an improvised explosive device was sent to her address. (See HM Advocate v Muirhead and McKenzie.)

References

External links

• Trish Godman MSP personal site
• Trish Godman's official biography at the Scottish Parliament website
• Trish Godman's profile at Scottish Labour Party website
• Trish Godman Taxpayer Charge
• Trish Godman Claim