Brought up in Springburn in the North of Glasgow,[1] Paterson attended Possilpark Secondary School, before building up his own business Gil's Motor Factors.[2] He served as a Scottish National Party (SNP) councillor in Strathclyde Regional Council and sat on the SNP's National Executive Committee, before being elected as one of five SNP MSPs for Central Scotland in the first election to the Scottish Parliament. During the first parliamentary term he sat on both the Local Government and Procedures committees in the Parliament.
At the 2003 election, only three SNP MSPs were returned for Central Scotland and Paterson lost his seat in Parliament. He returned to running his business but stayed active in the SNP, becoming the party's vice-convenor in charge of fundraising, a position he had held previously.
Paterson was one of the heaviest critics of the leadership style of John Swinney, and in the aftermath of the 2004 European election he openly called for Swinney's resignation, which happened shortly afterwards.[3][4]
In 2006, Paterson was selected to stand as candidate for the Clydebank and Milngavie Scottish Parliamentary constituency.
In the 2016-2021 session of the Scottish Parliament, Paterson was elected as the SNP Group convener.[5] He is also a member of two committees, 'European and External Relations' and 'Subordinate Legislation', the latter of which he is deputy-convener.
In August 2020,[6] Paterson announced that he would be stepping down as an MSP at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[7][8] Writing in the Clydebank Post, he said, "I shall not be seeking re-election in May due to personal circumstances. This was a decision I took very reluctantly, after a long period of reflection."[6]
Paterson voted Remain in the June 2016 referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership. He was active in raising Brexit concerns for business and economics in Scotland, including questioning First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament.[9]
