Marion Fellows

Marion Fellows
Official portrait, 2019
SNP Spokesperson for Disabilities
In office
7 January 2020 – 10 December 2022
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byNatalie McGarry
Succeeded byOffice abolished
SNP Spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovation
In office
20 June 2017 – 7 January 2020
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byDouglas Chapman
SNP Whip
In office
20 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
LeaderAngus Robertson
Ian Blackford
Stephen Flynn
Member of Parliament
for Motherwell and Wishaw
In office
7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byFrank Roy
Succeeded byPamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke
Personal details
Born
Marion Fullarton

(1949-05-05) 5 May 1949 (age 75)
Irvine, Scotland[1]
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materHeriot-Watt University

Marion Fellows (née Fullarton, born 5 May 1949) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. From 2015 until 2024, she was the Member of Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw. Between June 2017 and January 2020 she was the SNP spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovations.[2]

Early life and career

Fellows studied Accountancy and Finance at Heriot Watt University. For nineteen years, she taught business studies at West Lothian College, where she was an active member of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) trade union.[3][4]

Political career

Fellows was elected in 2012 as a North Lanarkshire Councillor for Wishaw,[5] and was active in the "Yes Motherwell and Wishaw" campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, which managed to achieve a majority in North Lanarkshire for leaving the United Kingdom, which made North Lanarkshire one of only 4 (out of 32) Scottish council districts to vote for independence, despite a national majority voting to stay in the UK.[6]

In 2007, Fellows unsuccessfully contested the Motherwell and Wishaw Scottish Parliament constituency against the incumbent, then-First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell,[7] and then in 2010 unsuccessfully contested the Motherwell and Wishaw United Kingdom Parliament constituency, losing to the incumbent Frank Roy.[8]

At the 2015 UK general election, Fellows was elected as the MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, with a majority of 11,898 votes.[9] After being elected, she was appointed as an SNP whip in May 2015 and was a member of the Education Committee between July 2015 and May 2017 and then again between September 2017 and November 2019. She was also a member of the Education, Skills and the Economy Sub-Committee between October 2016 and May 2017.[2]

Fellows was re-elected as MP for the seat at the 2017 UK General Election, with a significantly decreased majority of 318 votes.[10] Between October 2018 and November 2019 she was a member of the Administration Committee. In June 2017, she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovation, a post she held until January 2020.[2]

Fellows was again re-elected at the 2019 UK general election as the MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, with an increased majority of 6,268 votes.[11] In January 2020, she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for disabilities.[12][2]

In January 2020, Fellows became a member of the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, and in March 2020 she became a member of the Administration Committee.[2]

In the 2024 UK general election, she contested the new seat of Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke but was unseated by Pamela Nash.[13]

Personal life

She has lived with her family in Wishaw and Bellshill since the 1970s.[3] Marion was married to her husband George, until his death in 2018 from Sarcoma.[14]

References

  1. ^ Statutory registers - Births - Search results, ScotlandsPeople
  2. ^ a b c d e "Parliamentary career for Marion Fellows - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Nisbet, Craig (15 February 2015). "SNP Councllor Marion Fellows is Nats' candidate for Motherwell & Wishaw". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  4. ^ Henderson, Jason (24 November 2015). "About Marion". Marion Fellows MP. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  5. ^ Head of Establishment, Medlar Road (19 April 2012). "3 May 2012 - North Lanarkshire Council - results". www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Scottish independence referendum - Results - BBC News". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  7. ^ "BBC NEWS | Election 2007 | Scottish Parliament | Election Result: Motherwell & Wishaw". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  8. ^ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Motherwell & Wishaw". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Motherwell and Wishaw (Constituency) 2015 results - General election results - UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Motherwell and Wishaw (Constituency) 2017 results - General election results - UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Motherwell and Wishaw (Constituency) 2019 results - General election results - UK Parliament". electionresults.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Full list of SNP Westminster front bench and spokespeople 2020". Holyrood Website. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Labour's Pamela Nash takes seat from SNP despite 'vote Conservative' message". The National. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  14. ^ Love, Lynn (5 September 2018). "Wishaw MP Marion Fellows thanks medical staff after death of husband George". Daily Record. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Motherwell and Wishaw

20152024
Constituency abolished