{{short description|Scottish Labour politician}} {{for|the American civil rights activist|Margaret C. McCulloch}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use British English|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Margaret McCulloch | image = Margaret McCulloch.jpg | caption = McCulloch in 2012 | office = [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] <br /> for [[Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Central Scotland]]<br />{{nobold|(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)}} | term_start = 5 May 2011 | term_end = 24 March 2016 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|05|09|df= yes}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | birth_name = | party = [[Scottish Labour]] | spouse = | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Margaret McCulloch''' (born 9 May 1952) is a [[Scottish Labour|Scottish Labour Party]] politician. She was a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Central Scotland region]] 2011–2016.
==Background and personal life==
Born in the [[Gorbals]], Margaret was raised and educated in [[Glasgow]]. Prior to her election, she was an independent training consultant with her own business based in [[East Kilbride]]. She was also an External Verifier with the [[Scottish Qualifications Authority]]. She worked at the [[University of Strathclyde]] for 17 years, where she was a training executive, responsible for recruiting all staff under the age of 21, Modern Apprenticeships and ensuring the viability of the university's Centre for Skills Enhancement.<ref>[http://www.margaretmcculloch.org/about.php MargaretMcCulloch.org – About Scottish Parliament Business Exchange Member Directory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428013906/http://www.margaretmcculloch.org/about.php |date=28 April 2013 }}</ref> She lives in [[Stewartfield, East Kilbride|Stewartfield]] in East Kilbride with her husband Ian.
==Political life== She was elected to the Scottish Parliament as a Labour member for the [[Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Central Scotland]] region in May [[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/91229.stm. BBC Democracylive Biography]</ref> Following this, she was a member of the Finance Committee, Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee, Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee and a substitute member of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. McCulloch was the Convenor of the Equal Opportunities Committee and a member of Delegate Power and Legal Reform Committee McCulloch was a member of the Cross Party Group on Construction and Convener of the Cross Party Group on Skills and the Cross Party Group on Towns and Town Centres, (established in February 2011) Convenor of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Condition. <ref>[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msps/currentmsps/Margaret-McCulloch-MSP.aspx The Scottish Parliament Profile of Margaret McCulloch ]</ref>
From 2012 until 2014, she was Convener of the [[Scottish Parliament Business Exchange]],<ref>[http://www.spbe.org.uk/member_directory.html Scottish Parliament Business Exchange – Member Directory] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404001224/http://www.spbe.org.uk/member_directory.html |date=4 April 2012 }}</ref> an independent educational charity which fosters understanding between Members of the Scottish Parliament and the business community.
The economy, education and training, youth unemployment, procurement and hospitality and tourism are listed among her political interests. McCulloch is a former Conservative Party member and candidate, standing for the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliamentary constituency of [[Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Cumbernauld and Kilsyth in 2003]] and in the [[East Kilbride (UK Parliament constituency)|East Kilbride constituency]] at the 2001 Westminster General Election. In [[2007 South Lanarkshire Council election|2007]], she contested the East Kilbride West ward on South Lanarkshire Council as a Scottish Labour candidate.
Since her election she has campaigned to raise the standard of hospital food at Hairmyres Hospital in [[NHS Lanarkshire]],<ref>[http://www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk/lanarkshire-news/local-news-lanarkshire/local-news-east-kilbride/2011/11/23/nhs-bosses-vow-to-change-public-perception-of-hairmyres-food-68653-29821561/ NHS bosses vow to change public perception of Hairmyres food – East Kilbride News]</ref> represented staff and residents affected by the collapse of Southern Cross and supported the STV Appeal.<ref>[http://www.eastkilbridenews.co.uk/lanarkshire-news/local-news-lanarkshire/local-news-east-kilbride/2011/09/07/new-operators-found-for-ek-s-southern-cross-care-homes-68653-29372739/ New operators found for EK’s Southern Cross care homes – East Kilbride News]</ref>
In 2012, Parliamentary Question submitted by McCulloch revealed that the number of NHS patients in Scotland waiting for over twelve hours in Accident and Emergency units had doubled.<ref>[http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/more-patients-waiting-longer-in-a-es.18423421?_=076502c184b03456d4a858f61aa2709e06026af3 More patients waiting longer in A&Es – Herald Scotland]</ref>
Working with [[First ScotRail]] she helped local communities participate in the Adopt a Station programme.<ref>[http://local.stv.tv/east-kilbride/news/36246-east-kilbride-and-hairmyres-train-stations-adopted-by-students/ East Kilbride and Hairmyres train stations adopted by students – STV East Kilbride] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130706154129/http://local.stv.tv/east-kilbride/news/36246-east-kilbride-and-hairmyres-train-stations-adopted-by-students/ |date=6 July 2013 }}</ref> South Lanarkshire College have since adopted East Kilbride rail station, Crosshouse Primary School have adopted Hairmyres rail station, [[Hamilton Grammar School]] have adopted Hamilton Central rail station and patients and staff from NHS Lanarkshire's Beckford Lodge have adopted Hamilton West rail station.
She was placed sixth on the Labour Central Scotland regional list in the [[2016 Scottish Parliament election]] and missed out on being re-elected.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://labourlist.org/2016/02/scottish-labour-announce-list-candidates-for-mays-election/|title=Scottish Labour announce list candidates for May's election|date=2016-02-06|website=LabourList|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/scotland-regions/S17000009|title=Central Scotland – Scottish Parliament electoral region – Election 2016|access-date=2019-08-03|language=en-GB}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{SP-MSP}}
{{Former Labour MSPs|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulloch, Margaret}} [[Category:1952 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Labour MSPs]] [[Category:Female members of the Scottish Parliament]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016]] [[Category:Scottish Conservative parliamentary candidates]] [[Category:People from Gorbals]] [[Category:People from East Kilbride]] [[Category:Politicians from Glasgow]]