Margaret Ferrier was first elected as the SNP MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West in 2015, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 5,230. She has since been suspended from the SNP.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency is found in South Lanarkshire on the outskirts of Greater Glasgow. A mixed constituency in which there is a 15 minute rail connection into Glasgow, the seat contains affluent commuter districts in Hamilton and Blantyre, alongside a large public housing estate in Hillhead. A highly volatile electoral area in recent years, the SNP gained this seat by nearly 10,000 votes in 2015, only to lose it back to Labour by 265 votes in 2017, and then win it back again comfortably in 2019.
Ferrier was suspended from the SNP in 2020 and was arrested after travelling on a train back to Scotland having received a positive Covid test result. In August 2022, Ferieer pleaded guilty to breaching Covid rules at Glasgow Sheriff Court..She was sentenced in September 2022 and ordered to carry out 270 hours of community service..
Born in 1960, Margaret Ferrier trained as a teacher. She then worked as a commercial sales manager for a manufacturing construction company in Motherwell before being elected to Parliament.
Margaret Ferrier joined the SNP in 2011. She is strongly opposed to Trident and a Member of Scottish CND. She was previously a SNP Spokesperson on the Scottish Office at Westminster.
Ferrier is the Co Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Malawi, Human Rights, and Fire Safety and Rescue, and Vice Chair of the Groups on Green Mis-selling, Food Banks, and Mindfulness.
Email: margaret.ferrier.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: https://margaretferriermp.scot/
Twitter: @MargaretFerrier
