Anne McTaggart

{{short description|Scottish SNP politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}} {{Use British English|date=September 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Anne McTaggart | image = AnneMcTaggartMSPPortrait.jpg | image_size = | caption = | office = [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] <br /> for [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Glasgow]] | parliament = Scottish | majority = | term_start = 5 May 2011 | term_end = 24 March 2016 | predecessor = | successor = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|01|30|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Coatbridge]], Scotland | death_date = | death_place = | birth_name = | party = [[Scottish National Party]] (2019–present)<ref name="Party switch"/> | other_party = [[Scottish Labour]] (Pre-2019) | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = University of Strathclyde | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = [[Committees of the Scottish Parliament|Local Government and Regeneration]], [[Committees of the Scottish Parliament|Public Petitions]] | signature = | website = {{URL|www.annemctaggart.co.uk}} | footnotes = }}

'''Anne Margaret McTaggart''' (born 30 January 1970) is a [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) politician, and a [[Glasgow City Council|Glasgow city councillor]]. She was previously a [[Scottish Labour]] [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|the Glasgow region]] from 2011 to 2016.

== Background == Anne McTaggart was a Community Development worker<ref name=probe/> and chair of the local school Blairdardie Primary's [[Parent-Teacher Association|parents council]], before being elected to [[Glasgow City Council]] in a by-election in 2009.<ref>[http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/2009/06/labour-wins-anniesland-by-election/ Labour Wins Anniesland By-election]</ref><ref name=guard>[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/31/steven-purcell-glasgow-labour-elections As the old guard departs, has the time come for Glasgow's reformer?], The Guardian, 31 May 2009</ref>

== Political career == {{BLP sources section|date=January 2023}} McTaggart was a member of the Glasgow Labour Women's Forum and the [[Co-operative Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/90744.stm|title=Parliaments News – BBC News|website=BBC News|access-date=6 June 2011|archive-date=24 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824094806/http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/90744.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Councillor === She was elected as a Councillor in the [[Drumchapel/Anniesland (ward)|Drumchapel/Anniesland ward]] of [[Glasgow City Council]] at a [[2007 Glasgow City Council election|by-election (on 4 June 2009)]].<ref name=guard/><ref name="GlasgowCouncil1">{{cite web|title=Glasgow City Council – Councillors|url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/member.asp?id=34&t=Councillor+Anne+McTaggart|work=Glasgow City Council|date=4 June 2009|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref> The seat was previously held by [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] MSP [[Bill Kidd]], who resigned in April 2009 to focus on his [[Scottish Parliament|parliamentary]] activities by ending his dual mandate as councillor and MSP.<ref>[http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/2009/06/labour-wins-anniesland-by-election/ Labour wins Anniesland by-election]</ref>

She sat on five Committees, including the Personnel Appeals Committee, and was a member of the Education Children and Families Policy Development Committee<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://local.stv.tv/south-lanarkshire/public-information/politics/msp/ |title=STV |access-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721172642/http://local.stv.tv/south-lanarkshire/public-information/politics/msp/ |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the West Local Community Planning Partnership.<ref name="GlasgowCouncil2">{{cite web|title=Glasgow City Council – Committee Membership For: Anne McTaggart|url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/member.asp?id=34&t=Councillor+Anne+McTaggart|work=Glasgow City Council|date=4 June 2009|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref> In addition she was a Councillor member of Glasgow Regeneration Agency 2011 Ltd.<ref name="GlasgowCouncil3">{{cite web|title=Glasgow City Council – Outside Body Membership: Anne McTaggart|url=http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/councillorsandcommittees/outsideMembership.asp?id=34&name=Anne+McTaggart|work=Glasgow City Council|date=4 June 2009|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref>

A year after becoming an MSP, she did not seek re-election to Glasgow City Council in the [[2012 Glasgow City Council election|2012 local election]], thus ending her dual mandate.

=== Scottish Parliament ===

McTaggart was elected as a [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|list MSP for the Glasgow region]] in the [[2011 Scottish Parliament election]].<ref name="BBCNews">{{cite web|title=Vote 2011 – Scottish Elections – Regions – Glasgow|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/region/html/36139.stm|work=BBC News|date=6 May 2011|accessdate=5 June 2011}}</ref> The result was something of a surprise, as Labour lost five local constituency seats to the SNP and had three members selected from their additional list (from none in [[2007 Scottish Parliament election|2007]]), the last of whom was McTaggart.<ref name=probe>[https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13031072.new-labour-msp-faces-probe-over-verbal-abuse-of-colleague/ New Labour MSP faces probe over verbal abuse of colleague], The Herald, 4 June 2011</ref>

She was Scottish Labour's Shadow Minister for Democracy, a member of the European and External Relations Committee and a Substitute member of the Equal Opportunities Committee.

McTaggart received cross-party support to become Convener of the Cross Party Group on Poland, and Deputy Convenor of the following Scottish Parliament CPGs: Credit Unions, Social Enterprise and Tibet.

In November 2012, the BBC reported that McTaggart used her Parliamentary expenses to purchase books including ''Public Speaking and Presentation for Dummies'', ''The Scottish Parliament: An Introduction'' and several books on Labour politician [[Barbara Castle]]. The books were purchased for her mentoring scheme to encourage access to politics for women.<ref name="DailyRecord">{{cite web|title=Revealed: Holyrood expenses payouts include Labour MSP who bought public speaking guide 'for dummies'|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/revealed-holyrood-expenses-payouts-include-1460086|work=Daily Record|date=28 November 2012|accessdate=5 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-11-27 |title=MSP expenses rise to almost £13m |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-20510924 |access-date=2023-12-13}}</ref>

In the [[2016 Scottish Parliament election]], McTaggart did not stand for a constituency and was selected in twelfth position on the Labour [[Additional member system|additional member]] list for Glasgow,<ref>[https://labourlist.org/2016/02/scottish-labour-announce-list-candidates-for-mays-election/ Scottish Labour announce list candidates for May's election], Labour List, 6 February 2016</ref> effectively ending her tenure before the vote took place (a large number of the candidates listed above her would have to win their constituency seat, in addition to several more as well as her being added from the region, almost an impossibility under the proportional system).

===Return to council=== After losing her Holyrood seat, in the [[2017 Glasgow City Council election]] she was returned as a Councillor, again in the Drumchapel/Anniesland ward.

In November 2019, she announced that she joined the [[Scottish National Party]] and said that the Scottish Labour was not doing a good job in Glasgow.<ref name="Party switch">{{Cite news|url=https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/18009367.former-labour-msp-switches-join-snp/|title=Former Glasgow Labour MSP Anne McTaggart switches to join SNP|last=Hunter|first=Catherine|date=1 November 2019|work=[[Evening Times]]|access-date=1 November 2019}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{SP-MSP}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McTaggart, Anne}} [[Category:1970 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Scottish Labour councillors]] [[Category:Scottish National Party councillors]] [[Category:Labour MSPs]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016]] [[Category:Female members of the Scottish Parliament]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow constituencies]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Strathclyde]] [[Category:Women councillors in Glasgow]]