Hannah Mary Bardell (born 1 June 1983) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Livingston from 2015 until 2024.[1][2][3] A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she served as its spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019.[4]
Hannah Bardell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| SNP Spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the House of Commons | |
| In office 17 May 2018 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Leader | Ian Blackford |
| Preceded by | Brendan O'Hara |
| Succeeded by | John Nicolson |
| SNP Spokesperson for Work and Pensions in the House of Commons | |
| In office 20 May 2015 – 30 September 2015 | |
| Leader | Angus Robertson |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Neil Gray |
| Member of Parliament for Livingston | |
| In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Graeme Morrice |
| Succeeded by | Gregor Poynton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hannah Mary Bardell 1 June 1983 Livingston, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Alma mater | University of Stirling |
Early life and education
editBardell was born on 1 June 1983 in Craigshill, Livingston.[5] She attended Broxburn Academy and the University of Stirling. Bardell served as the National Union of Students' women's officer while studying at university.[6][7] Her first jobs were with STV Glasgow and GMTV London, where she became an assistant producer of The Sunday Programme, a current affairs series.[8][9]
Political career
editAfter first meeting Alex Salmond in 2007, Bardell joined the SNP's election campaign for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. For three years, she worked for Salmond and Ian Hudghton MEP in his constituency office.[10] Bardell then worked for the US State Department in their Edinburgh Consulate,[10] before joining the oil and gas industry, initially with Subsea 7, then for Oil & Gas Service company Stork as Head of Communications & Marketing for the UK, Africa & Norway. She left the oil & gas industry after only 3 years, in acrimonious circumstances, having admitted to having voluntarily signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) on leaving her position with Stork after allegations of bullying. She refused to state whether any payment was made to her in relation to the NDA.[11]
Bardell contested the Livingston seat for the SNP in the 2015 UK general election. Her mother, Lis Bardell had previously finished in second place for the SNP in the same constituency at the 2010 UK general election.[6] Bardell was elected with 32,736 votes (56.9%), a majority of 16,843 votes over the sitting Labour Party MP, Graeme Morrice,[12] overturning a Labour majority of 10,791 votes at the 2010 general election.[13] Bardell became Shadow SNP Westminster Group Leader (Business, Innovation and Skills) in October 2015 and latterly was Spokesperson for Small Business, Enterprise and Innovation.[5]
She was re-elected at the 2017 UK general election, with a significantly reduced majority of 3,878 votes (7.4%).[14]
In November 2018, Speaker John Bercow reprimanded Bardell for playing football in the historic debating chamber of the House of Commons at Westminster.[15]
She was again re-elected at the 2019 UK general election, with an increased majority of 13,435 votes (24.6%).[16]
In 2020 Bardell wrote to the Scottish Football Association (SFA) requesting that David Martindale, a convicted drug dealer, be allowed to become manager of Livingston FC. She tweeted that "The ability to be rehabilitated is a key part of an inclusive society"[17]
In March 2021, The Sunday Times reported that Bardell suggested a curfew banning men from the streets after 6pm should be considered in areas where women have been killed.[18][19]
In the 2024 United Kingdom general election she lost her seat to the Scottish Labour candidate Gregor Poynton.[20]
Personal life
editBardell was one of at least 45 LGBT MPs in the House of Commons as of December 2019[update].[21]
Following the 2015 general election, she said: "I only came out to myself and to my family during the election. I then chose not to say anything publicly because I had just got elected and I didn't want it to be one of the first things I said about myself as an MP".[22]
References
edit- ^ "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ "Election 2015 – Livingston". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ Tufft, Ben (8 May 2015). "Scottish MPs in Westminster: The full list of the SNP parliamentarians". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "Hannah Bardell MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Biography for Hannah Bardell". MyParliament. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ a b Russell, Greg (20 May 2015). "Meet your new Scottish MPs: #8 Hannah Bardell, Livingston". The National. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
- ^ "Hannah Bardell". Scottish National Party. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "Bardell, Hannah Mary, MP (SNP) Livingston, since 2015 | WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO". www.ukwhoswho.com. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u283949. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ^ Carr, Tim (18 May 2015). The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015: Profiles of the New MPs and Analysis of the 2015 General Election Results. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781849549240. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ a b Swanson, Ian (9 May 2015). "SNP brings seismic shift to Edinburgh politics". Evening News. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "SNP MP Hannah Bardell: I signed non-disclosure agreement after workplace bullying". www.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Election 2015: Livingston". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "Election 2015: Who are the 56 new SNP MPs?". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 June 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "Livingston parliamentary constituency – Election 2017". Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Wheeler, Richard (21 November 2018). "SNP MP reprimanded for playing football in House of Commons". The Herald. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Livingston parliamentary constituency – Election 2019". Retrieved 18 May 2024 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ @HannahB4LiviMP (25 January 2021). "1/ The ability to be rehabilitated is a key part of an inclusive society.That's why I've written to the…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Boothman, John; Macaskill, Mark (14 March 2021). "SNP's Hannah Bardell calls for curfew on men after women are killed". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ Fullarton, Ciara (14 March 2021). "Sarah Everard: SNP MP calls for male curfew in areas where women murdered". The National. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ "General Election Results 2024". West Lothian Council. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "The UK's parliament is still the gayest in the world after 2019 election". PinkNews. 13 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ Leftly, Mark (20 February 2016). "Gay MPs: The photograph that shows Westminster's attitude towards LGBT politicians is changing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
