Alison Thewliss

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Alison Thewliss

| image = Official portrait of Alison Thewliss MP crop 2.jpg

| caption = Official portrait, 2020

| honorific-suffix =

| office = SNP Home Affairs Spokesperson
in the House of Commons

| term_start = 10 December 2022

| term_end = 5 July 2024

| predecessor = Stuart McDonald

| successor =Position abolished

| leader = Stephen Flynn

| office1 = SNP Treasury Spokesperson
in the House of Commons

| leader1 = Ian Blackford

| term_start1 = 7 January 2020

| term_end1 = 10 December 2022

| predecessor1 = Kirsty Blackman

| successor1 = Stewart Hosie

| office2 = Member of Parliament
for Glasgow Central

| term_start2 = 7 May 2015

| term_end2 = 30 May 2024

| predecessor2 = Anas Sarwar

| successor2 = Constituency abolished

| majority2 =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1982|9|13}}

| birth_place = Lanark, Scotland

| party = Scottish National Party

| spouse = Joe Wright

| children = 2

| alma_mater = University of Aberdeen

| website = {{URL|www.alisonthewliss.scot}}

}}

Alison Emily Thewliss (born 13 September 1982){{cite book | title =Birth certificate of Alison Emily Thewliss, 13 September 1982, Lanark District 4697/68 5690 | publisher = National Records of Scotland}} is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from the May 2015 general election until 2024.{{cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2334493|title=List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland|work=The Edinburgh Gazette|date=15 May 2015|access-date=3 June 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/S14000029|publisher=BBC News|title=Glasgow Central parliamentary constituency – Election 2015|access-date=10 September 2016}}

Before being elected to Westminster, Thewliss was a Glasgow City Councillor for the Calton ward, first elected in 2007. During her time as a councillor, she served as the SNP's Spokesperson on Land and Environmental Services.{{cite news|last=Nutt|first=Kathleens|url=http://www.thenational.scot/politics/14887592.Meet_your_new_Scottish_MPs___35_Alison_Thewliss__Glasgow_Central/ |title=Meet your new Scottish MPs: #35 Alison Thewliss, Glasgow Central|work=The National |date=16 July 2015 |access-date=7 December 2016}} From 2020 to 2022, she led for the SNP on the Economy in Westminster.

On 3 December 2022, Thewliss announced her decision to stand as leader of the SNP's 44 sitting MPs at Westminster following the resignation of Ian Blackford.{{cite news|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/alison-thewliss-announced-she-run-203543884.html|title=Alison Thewliss has announced she will run to be the SNP's Westminster leader|first=Ninian|last=Wilson|date=3 December 2022|website=Yahoo! News}} She was defeated by Stephen Flynn by 26 votes to 17.{{Cite news |date=2022-12-06 |title=Stephen Flynn elected as new SNP leader at Westminster |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63876993 |access-date=2022-12-06}} On 10 December 2022, Flynn appointed her SNP Spokesperson for Home Affairs.{{Cite web |last=SNP |first=the |date=2022-12-10 |title=The real opposition: meet your new SNP Westminster Frontbench |url=https://www.snp.org/snp-westminster-frontbench-team/ |access-date=2022-12-11 |website=Scottish National Party |language=en-US}}

Early life and career

Thewliss attended Carluke High School and studied Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen.{{cite news|last=Garavelli|first=Dani|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/alison-thewliss-on-juggling-politics-children-and-campaigning-1-4314539|title=Alison Thewliss on juggling politics, children and campaigning|work=The Scotsman |date=10 December 2016|access-date=10 May 2017}}

Thewliss was inspired to join the SNP at the age of seventeen following the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum. She was too young to vote in the referendum, but carried out an exit poll at a polling station as part of a Modern Studies project, which brought her into contact with representatives from Scottish political parties. Whilst still a student, she became involved in canvassing for the SNP at the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. A few months later, she was employed as a researcher for Bruce McFee MSP. By the time McFee had decided not to seek re-election in 2007, the party was looking for local election candidates. Thewliss agreed to stand for the Calton ward at the 2007 Glasgow City Council election which used a new multi-member ward system, and was one of 19 SNP candidates who gained seats previously held by Scottish Labour councillors under the previous single-member system. She was re-elected in 2012, but stood down as a councillor after being elected as MP for Glasgow Central at the 2015 general election.

In October 2020, Thewliss was elected to the SNP National Executive Committee.{{cite news|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/18910384.snp-nec-results-revealed-michael-russell-becomes-party-president/ |title=SNP NEC results revealed: Michael Russell becomes party president |first=Andrew |last=Learmouth |date=30 November 2020|accessdate=16 October 2021}}

Parliamentary career

=Tax credits and the "rape clause"=

Thewliss has campaigned on the issue of the government's revised tax credit policy restricting new claimants to two children from 2017, a policy which was introduced by then chancellor George Osborne in his July 2015 budget. She said shortly afterwards that the budget measure was "incredibly distasteful" as women who had been raped would need to justify their case when the child was their third.{{cite news|last1=Brooks|first1=Libby|last2=Mason|first2=Rowena|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/09/government-third-child-tax-credits-proposal-budget-rape|title=MP challenges child tax credit plan that could require women to prove rape|work=The Guardian|date=9 July 2017|access-date=14 May 2017}} A requirement from April 2017 is for an explanation, tagged a "rape clause", of a woman's "exceptional circumstances" in such cases.{{cite news|last=Walker|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/03/exemption-clause-for-tax-credits-in-chaos-says-mp|title=Rape exemption clause for tax credits 'in chaos', says MP Alison Thewliss|work=The Guardian|date=3 March 2017|access-date=14 May 2017}} Thewliss, who had intervened nine times in the Commons on the issue by January 2016, was among those who launched a poster campaign in Glasgow that month for the government to abandon the proposal.{{cite news|last=Brooks|first=Libby|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jan/17/snp-mp-launches-campaign-against-tax-credit-clause|title=SNP MP launches campaign against tax credit 'rape clause'|work=The Guardian|date=17 January 2016|access-date=14 May 2017}}

How women could claim was still unclear the month before the measure was introduced. Via parliamentary questions, Thewliss had found that the training of a "professional third party" was still not arranged. It had been recommended in a 2016 Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) consultation document. Her request for an emergency parliamentary debate on the issue was rejected in March 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39325257|title=Alison Thewliss MP's tax credit 'rape clause' call rejected|work=BBC News|date=20 March 2017|access-date=14 May 2017}} As the policy came into force, she wrote of the women affected and government officials: "Will they accept her word, or will only a criminal conviction do? We don't yet know".{{cite news|last=Thewliss|first=Alison|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/politics/no-woman-should-have-to-prove-they-were-raped-to-claim-child-ben/|title=No woman should have to prove they were raped to claim child benefit. What is this madness?|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=6 April 2017|access-date=14 May 2017|url-access=subscription}}

=Leadership and Selection Contests=

File:SMPs at the SMP.jpg, Malawi's High Commissioner Thomas Bisika, Christine Jardine and Lord Jack McConnell at a Scotland Malawi Partnership event in 2024]]

In December 2022, Thewliss came second to Stephen Flynn in the contest to succeed Ian Blackford in leading the SNP group in Westminster, after which she became the SNP shadow Home Affairs spokesperson.{{Cite news |date=2022-12-06 |title=Stephen Flynn elected as new SNP leader at Westminster |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-63876993 |access-date=2023-10-03}}

Thewliss's constituency has no direct successor under the boundary review ahead of the 2024 general election, with its contents being distributed to five neighbouring constituencies.{{Cite web |last=Boundary Commission for Scotland |date=28 June 2023 |title=2023 Review of UK Parliament Constituency Boundaries in Scotland |url=https://www.bcomm-scotland.independent.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023_review_final/bcs_2023_review_final_report_print_version_reduced.pdf |access-date=3 October 2023}}

The SNP has no automatic presumption sitting candidates will be reselected. On 25 August 2023, Patrick Grady, then SNP MP for Glasgow North was not approved to stand in the 2024 general election.{{Cite news |last=Boothman |first=John |date=2023-09-07 |title=Disgraced SNP MP Patrick Grady not selected for next election |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/disgraced-snp-mp-patrick-grady-not-selected-for-next-election-37g8sv2d5 |access-date=2023-09-07 |issn=0140-0460}} In October 2023, Thewliss was one of five sitting SNP MPs involved in selection battles, running in both Glasgow North and Glasgow East. The latter, which contains the ward she had represented as a councillor, is against her SNP frontbench colleague David Linden, who had formerly worked for her.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66947728|title=SNP MPs face challengers in selection battles|date=2 October 2023|work=BBC News|accessdate=3 October 2023}}

Personal life

Thewliss is married to Joe Wright, a software developer.{{cite news |title=Big arrival looms for councillor |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13265750.big-arrival-looms-for-councillor/ |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=3 December 2022 |website=Glasgow Times |language=en}} The couple had a son in 2010{{cite news |url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/baby-joy-for-councillor-alison-27-1.1039702 |title=Baby joy for councillor Alison, 27 |work=Evening Times |publisher=Newsquest |date=30 March 2012 |access-date=10 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091124/http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/baby-joy-for-councillor-alison-27-1.1039702 |archive-date=18 May 2015}} and a daughter in 2013.{{cite news |url=http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/2014/09/great-new-interest-in-politics-as-a-result-of-the-referendum/ |title=Great new interest in politics as a result of the referendum |first=Grace |last=Fanklin |publisher=Local News Glasgow |date=19 September 2014 |access-date=29 May 2015 |archive-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109181206/http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/2014/09/great-new-interest-in-politics-as-a-result-of-the-referendum/ |url-status=dead }}