{{Short description|Labour member of the Scottish Parliament (born 1975)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use British English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Cara Hilton | honorific_suffix = | image = File:Cara Hilton.jpg | caption = Hilton in 2015 | constituency_MP = [[Dunfermline (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Dunfermline]] | parliament = Scottish | term_start = 25 October 2013 | term_end = 24 March 2016 | predecessor = [[Bill Walker (SNP politician)|Bill Walker]] | successor = [[Shirley-Anne Somerville]] | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | birth_name = | party = [[Scottish Labour]] | spouse = Simon | relations = [[Cathy Peattie]] (mother) | children = 3 | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | signature = | website = | footnotes = | other_party = [[Campaign for Socialism]] }} '''Cara Laura Hilton''' (born 1975) is a [[Scottish Labour]] politician, who was the [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for [[Dunfermline (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Dunfermline]] from 2013 to 2016.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-24106115 |title=Labour and SNP pick Dunfermline by-election candidates |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=2013-09-19}}</ref> She has served as a councillor for [[Dunfermline South (ward)|Dunfermline South]] since [[2022 Fife Council election|2022]].
== Political career == Hilton was the Labour candidate at the [[2013 Dunfermline by-election|Dunfermline by-election]] on 20 October 2013. She won by a majority of more than 2,800 votes, overturning a previous [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) majority of 590. This was the first time ever that Labour had won a parliamentary seat (in either the UK or Scottish parliaments) from the SNP at a by-election.
In her victory speech, Hilton praised the courage of preceding MSP [[Bill Walker (Scottish nationalist politician)|Bill Walker]]'s ex-wives. Walker's conviction for assault against his former wives had led to his resignation from parliament, causing the by-election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.stv.tv/politics/245253-dunfermline-by-election-new-msp-cara-hilton-gives-victory-speech/|title=New Dunfermline MSP praises 'bravery' of Bill Walker's ex-wives|date=25 October 2013|accessdate=25 October 2013}}</ref> [[Alex Salmond]] accused her of running a dishonest campaign, including the circulation of a leaflet criticised by the SNP as "demonstrably untrue".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/politics/dunfermline-by-election-labour-campaign-leaflet-brings-claim-of-panic-1.144342/|title=Labour campaign leaflet brings claims of panic|date=22 October 2013|accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>
In the [[2016 Scottish Parliament election|Scottish Parliament election]] of 2016, Hilton lost her seat to the SNP's [[Shirley-Anne Somerville]], who she had previously defeated at the by-election three years earlier. Along with the loss of the neighbouring [[Cowdenbeath (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Cowdenbeath]] constituency, this left the Labour Party without parliamentary representation in Fife for the first time since 1910.
Hilton was the Labour Party candidate for [[Dunfermline and West Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|Dumfermline and West Fife]] in the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017]] and [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general elections]], but both times came second behind the incumbent [[Scottish National Party|SNP]] MP [[Douglas Chapman (Scottish politician)|Douglas Chapman]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/S14000017|title=Dunfermline & West Fife parliamentary constituency|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-09-24|language=en-GB}}</ref>
Hilton served as vice-chair of Scottish Labour from 2019 to 2020, and has served as chair of Scottish Labour since 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scottishlabour.org.uk/about/whos-on-the-sec/|title=Who's on the SEC?|website=Scottish Labour|language=en|access-date=2019-10-25}}</ref>
== Personal life == Hilton is the daughter of former Labour MSP and Scottish Labour chair [[Cathy Peattie]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://news.stv.tv/east-central/239659-cara-hilton-picked-as-labour-candidate-for-dunfermline-by-election/|title=Cara Hilton picked as Labour candidate for Dunfermline by-election|publisher=STV News|accessdate=2013-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019220456/http://news.stv.tv/east-central/239659-cara-hilton-picked-as-labour-candidate-for-dunfermline-by-election/|archive-date=19 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her husband is Simon, and she has three children.
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{SP-MSP}} * {{Twitter}} * {{Instagram|hilton.cara}}
{{Former Labour MSPs|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilton, Cara}} [[Category:1975 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Fife]] [[Category:Female members of the Scottish Parliament]] [[Category:Labour MSPs]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016]]