THE dust is starting to settle following last week’s political shake-up, and there’s a new cohort of MPs entering Westminster.
Labour now hold a majority of Scottish seats in Westminster, whilst the SNP are down to just nine MPs.
The political landscape of the country is now dramatically different – but which of Scotland’s MPs have connections to the trade union movement?
First off, there’s Tracy Gilbert, the new Scottish Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith.
Gilbert (below) beat the SNP’s Deidre Brock by 7268 votes and wrote on social media that she was “proud to be in Westminster representing the community I love”.
(Image: PA)
She has been the Scottish regional secretary for Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) since May 2021.
Johanna Baxter was elected as the new Scottish Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, where she beat the SNP’s Jacqueline Cameron by 19,583 votes to 13,056.
Baxter (below) was the Scotland regional officer for Unison until her election on July 4.
In Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, Scottish Labour’s Katrina Murray won the seat from Stuart McDonald – treasurer of the SNP – by 4000 votes.
Murray is a member of Unison and has been vice chair of Labour’s national policy forum representing CLP’s (Constituency Labour Party) and regional parties since November.
READ MORE: Scottish Government given no detail on Labour's new 'council of nations'
Elsewhere, Richard Baker was elected as Scottish Labour MP for Glenrothes and Mid Fife after beating the SNP’s John Beare at 15,994 votes to 13,040.
Baker is a member of Unite and was formerly an MSP for the North East Scotland region.
Industrial reaction
Unite has secured an 11.9% pay increase for more than 100 workers at Edinburgh airport following a dispute with employers.
Meanwhile, ScotRail services across the country are facing disruption amid an ongoing pay dispute with train drivers.
The union Aslef said it would recommend a ballot of its members for industrial action, and that some train drivers would no longer work extra Sunday shifts and overtime.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here