Kenny MacAskill

Though a first-time MP, Kenny MacAskill is no stranger to front-line politics. Before his decision to move to Westminster, MacAskill served for 17 years in the Scottish Parliament and served as Scotland’s cabinet secretary for justice from 2007 to 2014. MacAskill is probably best known in this role for authorising the release of the “Lockerbie Bomber”, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. The decision was met with criticism from Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, as well as Robert Mueller, who penned a critical open letter to MacAskill. After leaving Holyrood in 2016, his election to Westminster was something of a surprise return. He won his East Lothian seat, now a Labour-SNP marginal, on a 6.1 per cent swing, defeating the Labour incumbent Martin Whitfield. MacAskill is already proving to be outspoken in his new role. A long-time “gradualist” who believes in a slower path to Scottish independence, in December 2019, he suggested that Nicola Sturgeon should shift focus away from another referendum on independence and focus on “protecting public services.” His comments were quickly seized upon by opposition leaders, indicating that MacAskill could prove a serious headache for his former ally Nicola Sturgeon.