1. Neil Findlay was born on 6 March 1969 and is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothian from 2011 to 2021.
20 Facts About Neil Findlay
1. 2.
Neil Findlay was raised in Blackburn, West Lothian and educated at the co-educational, Roman Catholic St Kentigern's Academy.
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Neil Findlay describes himself as a socialist and trade unionist, and is on the left of the Labour Party, he's has a committed Anti-Trident stance and is a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and has been heavily critical in the past of his own party's position on Nuclear Weapons.
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In 2003, Neil Findlay was elected onto West Lothian Council as a Scottish Labour councillor for the Fauldhouse and Breich Valley ward.
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Neil Findlay was re-elected in 2007 and stood down in 2012.
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In 2011, Neil Findlay was elected to the Scottish Parliament as one of seven additional members for Lothian list.
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Neil Findlay has been a member of the Scottish Parliament's Performance Committee, Local Area Committee and the Services for the Community Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel.
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Ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum in 2014, Neil Findlay campaigned for a No vote, advocating a "devomax" position, however unlike many of his colleagues within the Scottish Labour, he did not join the official Better Together movement and was a strong critic of his party's involvement due to it being a collaboration with the Conservatives.
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On 29 October 2014, Neil Findlay declared he would stand in the upcoming Scottish Labour leadership election.
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Neil Findlay was the Scottish campaign chief for Jeremy Corbyn during the 2015 Labour leadership election, and is the convener of Scottish Labour's Campaign for Socialism, succeeding Elaine Smith.
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Neil Findlay was appointed Scottish Labour's Brexit spokesperson by new leader Richard Leonard on 19 November 2017, and then as Parliamentary Business Manager on 4 October 2018.
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In turn, Neil Findlay issued a counter-complaint over "derogatory" WhatsApp messages in which Murray accused the leadership of being "full of thugs and incompetents".
13.
On 28 May 2019, the day after it was confirmed Scottish Labour had finished fifth in Scotland in the European election and lost both its MEPs, Neil Findlay resigned as Brexit spokesperson and Business Manager.
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Neil Findlay intimated he would leave the Scottish Parliament after the 2021 election.
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Neil Findlay was however critical of "eternal internal fighting within our party and the toxic culture of leaks and briefings that come from some within the Scottish and UK parliamentary groups".
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Neil Findlay nominated Monica Lennon in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election.
17.
Neil Findlay resigned from the Labour Party in March 2025 in response to the government's changes to the benefits system.
18.
Neil Findlay later predicted that Anas Sarwar would lead Scottish Labour to its worst ever result at Holyrood.
19.
Neil Findlay is married to Fiona Miller, with whom he has one daughter, Chloe.
20.
Neil Findlay is a member of the trade unions Unite and Educational Institute of Scotland.