1. Martin David Whitfield was born on 12 August 1965 and is a Scottish Labour politician and former lawyer and primary school teacher who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the South Scotland region and the Convener of the Standards and Procedures and Public Appointments Committee since 2021.
Martin Whitfield was born in Gosforth in Newcastle and achieved a BA in Business Law from Huddersfield Polytechnic.
Martin Whitfield was Chair of Prestonpans Community Council and involved in a number of community groups.
Martin Whitfield was named as the official Labour Party candidate for the East Lothian constituency at the 2017 UK general election, where he unseated the sitting Scottish National Party MP, George Kerevan.
Martin Whitfield was an active opponent of Brexit and a strong supporter of a second referendum, referred to as a "People's Vote".
Martin Whitfield supported the official recognition of non-binary people in official government documentation.
Martin Whitfield was one of 216 general election candidates to pledge support for the Israel Election Pledge.
In June 2018, Martin Whitfield led an adjournment debate on the challenges faced by people with 'hidden' disabilities, particularly in relation to the use of accessible toilets and cited the Grace's Sign campaign run by a young constituent, Grace Warnock.
Martin Whitfield was a strong critic of the rollout of Universal Credit and was one of the first Labour MPs to call for the new benefit to be replaced entirely.
Martin Whitfield was a member of several All-Party Parliamentary Groups, including the Timber Industries APPG, which he chaired.
Martin Whitfield was a member of the Commons' Science and Technology Select Committee.
Martin Whitfield was the Co-Chair of Anas Sarwar's unsuccessful 2017 Scottish Labour leadership campaign.
Martin Whitfield supported MP Ian Murray's UK Labour deputy leadership campaign, MSP Jackie Baillie's Scottish Labour deputy leadership campaign, and Anas Sarwar's successful 2021 Scottish Labour leadership campaign.
Martin Whitfield lost his seat at the 2019 general election to the SNP candidate, Kenny MacAskill.
Martin Whitfield later became a supporter and executive committee member for the organisation Scientists for Labour, providing advice and input to Sir Keir Starmer's office on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Martin Whitfield stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in the East Lothian constituency and the South Scotland regional list at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
Martin Whitfield is Labour's Parliamentary Business Manager and spokesperson for Children and Young People in the Scottish Parliament.