34 Facts About Paul Sweeney

Paul Sweeney previously served as Member of Parliament for Glasgow North East from 2017 to 2019.

Paul Sweeney attended St Matthew's Primary School and Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs.

Paul Sweeney studied for a degree at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with a first class MA in Economic History and Political Science in 2011.

Paul Sweeney served as a trustee on the Glasgow University Union's board of management from 2013 to 2020.

At the age of seventeen, Paul Sweeney joined the Army Reserve, initially serving in the Royal Corps of Signals with 32 Signal Regiment, before transferring to 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland at Walcheren Barracks.

Whilst at BAE Systems, Paul Sweeney initiated a project with the Glasgow School of Art's Digital Design Studio to introduce virtual reality methods into complex naval ship design and construction.

Paul Sweeney joined the Labour Party and Co-operative Party in 2008 and first became an active campaigner during the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election, after receiving a telephone call from Sarah Brown encouraging him to get involved.

Paul Sweeney is on the executive committee of the Scottish Fabian Society and a member of Open Labour, Momentum and Campaign for Socialism.

Paul Sweeney came to prominence during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, after he organised an open letter signed by young shipyard workers opposing the break-up of the UK, and subsequently spoke at a rally alongside Gordon Brown on the eve of the referendum.

Paul Sweeney was twelfth on the Scottish Labour Party's regional list for West Scotland in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Paul Sweeney was a critic of the seven Labour MPs who defected to form Change UK in February 2019, describing them as "self-centred careerists" at a meeting which took place the following month to mark the relaunch of Tribune magazine.

In July 2020, Paul Sweeney branded the investigation process "shambolic" and "not fit for purpose".

Paul Sweeney was third on Scottish Labour's regional list for the Glasgow region in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Paul Sweeney was elected as an MSP for the Glasgow region in the 6th Scottish Parliament on 8 May 2021.

Paul Sweeney was appointed as Shadow Shadow Minister for Employment and Public Finance on 31 May 2021.

In May 2022, Mr Paul Sweeney launched a consultation on his proposed bill, the Drugs Death Prevention Bill, in response to drug related deaths in Scotland, aiming to enable the establishment of Overdose Prevention Centres.

In February 2024, Paul Sweeney withdrew his sponsorship of a Scottish Parliament reception organised by ADS Group to celebrate Scottish Apprenticeship Week after public allegations that some of their member companies supplied the Israeli military during the ongoing Gaza war and resulting Gaza humanitarian crisis.

Paul Sweeney backed the UK Government's decision to introduce a means test for the Winter Fuel Payment, voting in the Scottish Parliament against calls to keep it a universal payment.

Paul Sweeney has called for all private schools in Scotland to be stripped of their charitable status and integrated with the state sector.

Paul Sweeney campaigned for the UK to remain as a member state of the European Union during the 2016 referendum.

Paul Sweeney was one of 78 Parliamentarians who challenged the five-week prorogation of Parliament by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the Court of Session.

Paul Sweeney has suggested that any future independence referendum should not be a binary vote as in 2014, but instead take the form of a multi-option referendum.

Paul Sweeney supports replacing the first-past-the-post voting system for the House of Commons with proportional representation and is a member of the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform.

Paul Sweeney opposed Home Office contractor Serco evicting hundreds of asylum seekers from their accommodation across Glasgow, In 2019 he committed Labour to ending unlimited immigration detention in prison-like facilities, including Dungavel.

Paul Sweeney addressed the protest and called for Glaswegians to join the picket in support of the detained men.

Paul Sweeney successfully campaigned to restore the Highland Light Infantry memorial in Kelvingrove Park after it was vandalised in February 2019.

Paul Sweeney called for the protection of the proposed route of the Glasgow Crossrail project on the former City of Glasgow Union Railway line from encroachment by residential developers on a site east of the High Street, at Collegelands.

Paul Sweeney has called for the extension of High Speed 2 north from Manchester to Glasgow.

Paul Sweeney has spoken out against cuts to local public amenities by Glasgow City Council, including the controversial closure of the People's Palace in January 2019, and supporting community-led campaigns against the closure of Whitehill Swimming Pool in Dennistoun, and the city's six municipal golf courses.

Paul Sweeney led a campaign against the closure of the last railway engineering works in Springburn, the St Rollox 'Caley' Railway Works in concert with the Unite and RMT trade unions, lobbying both the UK and Scottish Governments to renationalise the works In May 2022, it was reported that an application he had made for the railway works site to be designated as listed by Historic Environment Scotland was successful, with the buildings and railway sidings awarded a category B listing.

Paul Sweeney called for greater investment in improvements to the Clyde's shipyard infrastructure, a long-term continuous shipbuilding programme from Defence Equipment and Support, condemned delays to Type 31 frigate procurement, and was part of a successful campaign to get acommitment from the Ministry of Defence that the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's planned Fleet Solid Support Ships are built in British shipyards.

Paul Sweeney has an interest in built heritage and architectural issues in Glasgow.

Paul Sweeney is a director of the Glasgow City Heritage Trust, a member of Glasgow Building Preservation Trust and has led walks as part of Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival for several years.

Paul Sweeney was involved in the restoration of the historic former Govan shipyard head offices into the Fairfield Heritage Centre in 2014, for which he won an award, and the restoration of the 'Light and Life' sculpture on the former headquarters building of the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society in the Kingston district of Glasgow in 2016.