Kirsty Blackman

Kirsty Blackman is the SNP’s former deputy leader in Westminster. Her relative youth and political acumen have already marked her out as a prominent SNP player, and we can expect to see more from her for many years to come. After secondary education at Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen, (she shares her alma mater with both Michael Gove and Annelise Dodds) she was quick to enter the political realm, becoming an Aberdeen City councillor at the age of 21. Eight years later and higher office beckoned. She successfully stood in the 2015 General Election in Aberdeen North, sweeping away Labour opposition in their former stronghold, and was returned again in 2017 and 2019, most recently with a 12,670 majority. She became the SNP’s Westminster Deputy Leader after the 2017 election, but stood down from this role in July 2020, citing the impact of the Coronavirus lockdown on her mental wellbeing. As well as continuing her Committee work and APPG involvement, one can be sure that Blackman, a mother of two young children, will also continue to be vociferous in calling for more family-friendly practices in Parliament.