Stewart McDonald was first elected as the SNP MP for Glasgow South in 2015, being reelected with a majority of 9,005 in 2019.
The constituency of Glasgow South is focussed on the south of the city. Alongside large social housing estates, Glasgow South contains some of the few Conservative areas of the city’s such as Pollokshields and Newlands. In its former incarnation as Glasgow Cathcart, this area was once the Conservative Party’s last outpost in Glasgow. It was held by the party continuously between 1945 and 1979. One of Scotland’s more ethnically diverse constituencies there are notable Jewish and Pakistani communities living in this seat. Held by Labour between 1979 and 2015, the SNP gained the seat in their landslide year of 2015. The SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, represents Glasgow Southside in the Scottish Parliament.
Stewart McDonald served as the SNP’s Defence Spokesperson at Westminster between 2017 and December 2022. He resigned upon Stephen Flynn becoming the SNP’s Westminster leader.
Stewart McDonald was born in Castlemilk, Glasgow in 1986. He worked as a retail worker, and as a holiday rep in Tenerife before working for as a researcher for a Scottish MSP.
McDonald is an openly gay MP. He has supported the PrEP pill (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a drug taken by HIV-negative people before and after sex and which supports HIV prevention.
In March 2018, he brought forward a Bill to Parliament aiming to ban unpaid work trials. His Bill was talked out but he continues to campaign around the issue.
Stewart McDonald is Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights. He is also Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Hong Kong, and Ukraine.
Email: stewart.mcdonald.mp@parliament.uk
Personal Website: https://www.stewartmcdonald.scot/
Twitter: twitter.com/stewartmcdonald
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StewartMcDonaldSNP?fref=ts
