22 Facts About Margaret Ferrier

Margaret Ferrier was first elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election as the Scottish National Party candidate for the constituency.

Margaret Ferrier lost her seat to Ged Killen of the Labour Party at the 2017 general election but regained it at the 2019 election.

In 2020, Ferrier was suspended by the SNP and had the party whip withdrawn for breaching COVID-19 lockdown rules.

Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader and first minister of Scotland, called on Margaret Ferrier to resign her parliamentary seat.

Margaret Ferrier was arrested in January 2021 and charged with "culpable and reckless conduct", for which she pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to community service.

Margaret Ferrier was born on 10 September 1960 and brought up in the district of King's Park in Glasgow, attending Holyrood Secondary School.

Margaret Ferrier has lived in the Halfway district of Cambuslang since 2000, where she joined the Rutherglen branch of the SNP in 2011.

Margaret Ferrier lost the election to Ged Killen of Scottish Labour.

Margaret Ferrier became the member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West after winning the seat at the 2015 general election; she achieved 30,279 votes, 52 per cent of the total cast and a 31-per-cent swing from the previous incumbent and their party.

Margaret Ferrier narrowly lost the seat in the June 2017 election to Killen by 265 votes.

Margaret Ferrier stood as a candidate in the 2019 European Parliament election.

Margaret Ferrier was again selected as the SNP candidate for the seat in the 2019 general election, where she defeated Killen on a 5-per-cent swing and gained a majority of 5,240 votes, or 9.7 per cent.

On 1 October 2020, Margaret Ferrier made a public statement apologising for serious breaches of regulations imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Ferrier received a positive COVID-19 test result on the same day and returned to Scotland the next morning, again by train, having told her party whip that a family member was unwell.

Margaret Ferrier referred herself to the police and the parliamentary standards authorities.

Margaret Ferrier said that the coronavirus made her act "out of character", an explanation that was dismissed by Sturgeon.

On 12 November 2020, Margaret Ferrier made her first appearance in the Commons since breaching COVID-19 regulations.

Margaret Ferrier accused her of gross selfishness and started a petition for her resignation from parliament.

On 4 January 2021, Margaret Ferrier was arrested and charged by Police Scotland with "culpable and reckless conduct".

Margaret Ferrier pleaded guilty to the charge on 18 August 2022, and on 13 September was sentenced to 270 hours of community service.

Margaret Ferrier acted with a high degree of recklessness to the public and to colleagues and staff at the House of Commons.

Margaret Ferrier acted selfishly, putting her own interests above the public interest.