Siobhan McMahon

{{short description|British politician (born 1984)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}} {{Use British English|date=November 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Siobhan McMahon | image = SiobhanMcMahonMSP20110510.JPG | image_size = 220px | caption = McMahon in 2011 | 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_name = Siobhan Marie McMahon | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1984|07|04|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Lanarkshire]], Scotland | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Scottish Labour]] | spouse = John Wright | relations = | children = 1 daughter | alma_mater = [[Glasgow Caledonian University]] | occupation = | profession = | cabinet = | committees = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Siobhan Marie McMahon''' (born 4 July 1984) is a [[Scottish Labour Party]] politician who served as a regional list [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Central Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Central Scotland]] region from [[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011]] to [[2016 Scottish Parliament election|2016]].

==Education and early career==

McMahon graduated from [[Glasgow Caledonian University]] in 2006 with a 2.1 BA Honours degree in Politics with History and Sociology. She worked as a paid researcher for her father, the serving [[Hamilton North and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Hamilton North and Bellshill]] MSP [[Michael McMahon (Scottish politician)|Michael McMahon]], who also employed her mother as a paid assistant.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7752236.stm|quote=Over in the Labour camp, it is a family affair for Hamilton North and Bellshill MSP Michael McMahon, who pays wife Margaret and daughter Siobhan as parliamentary assistant and researcher respectively. |publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=27 November 2008|access-date=14 May 2011|first=Andrew|last=Black|title=Which MSPs are employing family? }}</ref>

== Member of the Scottish Parliament == In the [[2011 Scottish Parliament election]], McMahon was elected as a regional list MSP, and her father and herself became the first father-and-daughter pair to serve in the [[Scottish Parliament]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/election-2011/holyrood-to-get-first-blind-msp-1.1100035|date=6 May 2011|accessdate=14 May 2011|work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|title=Holyrood to get first blind MSP|quote=Another first is the election of a father and daughter, Michael and Siobhan McMahon. Mr McMahon was returned as MSP for Uddingston and Bellshill with a Labour majority of 714, while his daughter is one of three Labour MSPs representing the Central region.|author=Lindsey Johnstone and Mareike Brensing}}</ref>

McMahon was involved in [[Johann Lamont]]'s successful campaign in the [[2011 Scottish Labour Party leadership election]]. Following Lamont's victory, McMahon became her Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS), with the right to attend meetings of the Scottish Labour [[Shadow Cabinet (Scottish Parliament)|Shadow Cabinet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/siobhan-mcmahon-msp-handed-shadow-2827133|title=Siobhan McMahon MSP handed shadow ministerial role|last=Pringle|first=Michael|date=2012-01-04|website=dailyrecord|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>

McMahon was one of three Labour MSPs that voted against the [[Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014]], which legislated on civil and religious [[same-sex marriage]].<ref name=BBC25018895>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25018895 |title=Scotland's same sex marriage bill: How MSPs voted |date=20 November 2013 |work=BBC News |access-date=22 November 2013|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107164402/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25018895 |archive-date=7 January 2016}}</ref>

Following Johann Lamont's resignation as leader following the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]], McMahon supported [[Jim Murphy]] in the [[2014 Scottish Labour Party leadership election]], and afterwards he gave her a junior role as Shadow Minister for Youth and Women's Employment, reporting to Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training [[Neil Findlay]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://siobhanmcmahon.wordpress.com/2015/01/06/siobhan-mcmahon-msp-delighted-to-be-appointed-shadow-youth-and-womens-employment-minister/|title=Siobhan McMahon MSP Delighted to be Appointed Shadow Youth and Women's Employment Minister|last=McMahon|first=Siobhan|date=2015-01-06|website=Siobhan McMahon for Central Scotland|language=en|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>

McMahon endorsed [[Richard Baker (Scottish politician)|Richard Baker]], then subsequently [[Ken Macintosh]] in the [[2015 Scottish Labour Party leadership election]]. After Macintosh ultimately lost to [[Kezia Dugdale]], McMahon lost her frontbench post in Dugdale's first reshuffle.

In the [[2016 Scottish Parliament election]], McMahon was succeeded as first on the Central Scotland regional list by [[Richard Leonard (Scottish politician)|Richard Leonard]], who became Leader of the Scottish Labour Party following the [[2017 Scottish Labour Party leadership election]].<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=2019-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42024155|title=Richard Leonard to lead Scottish Labour|date=2017-11-18|access-date=2019-10-19|language=en-GB}}</ref> McMahon was ranked tenth by Labour Party members onto the Labour regional list; as only seven MSPs are elected from the list it was impossible for her to be elected again.<ref name=heraldscotland-20160214>{{cite news |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14275503.labour-msp-siobhan-mcmahon-blasts-party-not-enough-help-disabled-people/ |title=Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon blasts her party for not doing enough to help disabled people |last=Hutcheon |first=Paul |newspaper=The Herald |location=Scotland |date=14 February 2016 |access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref>

In the 2016 election, McMahon's father lost his [[Uddingston and Bellshill (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Uddingston and Bellshill]] seat after serving as an MSP since 1999 and she criticised Kezia Dugdale for failing to send condolences to defeated MSPs like her father. In response, Dugdale invited all non-returning, including regional list, MSPs to a dinner she would be hosting the following week.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14481195.former-labour-msp-attacks-dugdale-for-failing-to-phone-defeated-candidates/|title=Former Labour MSP attacks Dugdale for 'failing to phone defeated candidates'|website=HeraldScotland|date=9 May 2016 |language=en|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>

== Personal life == McMahon is married to John Wright, with whom she has one daughter, Anna. McMahon now works in civil society. She has a disability called [[hemiplegia]], a neuromuscular condition which causes weakness along the right-hand side of her body.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,former-labour-msp-siobhan-mcmahon-on-inclusivity-for-disabled-people-in-pol_6770.htm|title=Former Labour MSP Siobhan McMahon on inclusivity for disabled people in politics|date=2019-10-03|website=Holyrood Website|language=en|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref> She is a Christian.<ref name=premierchristian-20150324>{{cite news |url=https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/catholics-voted-yes-protestants-no-claims-salmond |title=Catholics voted yes, Protestants no, claims Salmond |website=Premier Christian News |date=24 March 2015 |access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{SP-MSP}} * [https://twitter.com/MrsSWright84 Twitter]

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Siobhan}} [[Category:1984 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University]] [[Category:Labour MSPs]] [[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2011–2016]] [[Category:Female members of the Scottish Parliament]]