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{{Short description|Scottish politician (born 1970)}}
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{{Infobox MSP
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Karen Whitefield
| name = Karen Whitefield
| honorific-suffix = [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|MSP]]
| honorific-suffix =
| image = KarenWhitefield.jpg
| image = KarenWhitefield.jpg
| imagesize = 150px
| caption =
| caption =
| constituency_MP = [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]]
| constituency_MP = [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]]
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| majority =
| majority =
| term_start = 6 May 1999
| term_start = 6 May 1999
| term_end = 6 May 2011
| term_end = 22 March 2011
| predecessor = ''new constituency''
| predecessor = ''new constituency''
| successor = [[Alex Neil]]
| successor = [[Alex Neil (politician)|Alex Neil]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|01|8|df=yes}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|01|8|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bellshill]]
| birth_place = [[Bellshill]], Scotland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| birthname =
| birthname =
| nationality =
| nationality =
| party = [[Scottish Labour Party]]
| party = [[Scottish Labour]]
| spouse =
| spouse =
| relations =
| relations =
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| footnotes =
| footnotes =
}}
}}
'''Karen Whitefield''' (born 8 January 1970, [[Bellshill]])<ref name="scottish.parliament.uk">[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/karen_whitefield/ The Scottish Parliament - Current Members - Karen Whitefield<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] politician, and [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] for [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]] constituency from 1999 to 2011.
'''Karen Whitefield''' (born 8 January 1970, [[Bellshill]]) is a [[Scottish Labour]] politician. She was the [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]] constituency from [[1999 Scottish Parliament election|1999]] to [[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011]].


==Political career==
Prior to her election as MSP she worked as a personal assistant to [[Rachel Squire]], [[Member of Parliament]].<ref name="scottish.parliament.uk"/>
Prior to her election as MSP, she worked as a personal assistant to [[Rachel Squire]] [[Member of Parliament (UK)|MP]].


===MSP for Airdrie and Shotts: 1999–2011===
As an MSP she chaired the [[Scottish Parliament|Parliament's]] Education Committee where she used her casting vote to reject the student graduate endowment bill, a [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) flagship policy. It had the backing of the [[Liberal Democrats]] and SNP members, however not the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] or [[Scottish Conservatives|Conservative]] members of the committee<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7141315.stm BBC NEWS | Scotland | MSPs reject graduate charge plan<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The bill was eventually passed through the [[Scottish Parliament]]<ref>http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/bills/02-GraduateEndowAbolition/index.htm></ref> by a vote of 67 to 61.<ref>[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor0228-02.htm#Col6555 The Scottish Parliament - Official Report<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
She was elected as MSP for Airdrie and Shotts at the [[1999 Scottish Parliament election]]. As an MSP, she chaired the [[Scottish Parliament|Parliament's]] Education Committee, where she used her casting vote to reject the student graduate endowment bill, a [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP) flagship policy. It had the backing of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] and SNP members, but not the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] or [[Scottish Conservatives|Conservative]] members of the committee.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7141315.stm | work=BBC News | title=MSPs reject graduate charge plan | date=13 December 2007}}</ref> The bill was eventually passed through the Scottish Parliament by a vote of 67 to 61. Whitefield was Scottish Labour's shadow Minister for Children in the Scottish Parliament, and Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Diabetes under Iain Gray. At the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, she lost her seat to [[Alex Neil (politician)|Alex Neil]] of the SNP, one of nine Labour MSPs to lose their constituency seats after holding them since the first election to the Scottish Parliament twelve years earlier.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13305003 |work=BBC News |title=Scottish election: Labour's 'class of '99' lose to SNP |publisher=BBC |date=6 May 2011 |accessdate=8 December 2013}}</ref>


===Falkirk PPC: 2015===
Whitefield is Scottish Labour's shadow Minister for Children in the Scottish Parliament and Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Diabetes.
Following the resignation of sitting MP [[Eric Joyce]] (and the controversial and flawed [[2013 Labour Party Falkirk candidate selection]]), in a re-run in which all the previous candidates were excluded on 8 December 2013, Whitefield was selected to contest the [[Falkirk (UK Parliament constituency)|Falkirk constituency]] at the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 UK general election]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25279685 |work=BBC News |title=Falkirk Labour: Karen Whitefield chosen after selection row |publisher=BBC |date=8 December 2013 |accessdate=8 December 2013}}</ref> However, at the 2015 UK general election, the SNP won a landslide victory with 56 seats in Scotland; ending 51 years of dominance by Scottish Labour, and Whitehead was unsuccessful in being elected.

===Labour Leadership 2021 campaign===
Following the resignation of Scottish Labour leader [[Richard Leonard]], Whitefield chaired [[Anas Sarwar]]'s leadership campaign. Sarwar was subsequently voted in as the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19032107.former-msp-chair-anas-sarwars-scottish-labour-leadership-bid/ |work=Herald Scotland|title=Former MSP to chair Anas Sarwar's Scottish Labour leadership bid |publisher=Herald Scotland |date=22 January 2021}}</ref>

==Personal life==
After her defeat at the [[2011 Scottish Parliament election]], she subsequently became a campaign officer at [[USDAW]]. She is single and lives in the village of [[Glenmavis]].{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>


==External links==
== External links ==
* {{SP-MSP}}
*[http://www.karenwhitefield.com/ Karen Whitefield MSP] personal site
*[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/membersPages/karen_whitefield/ Karen Whitefield MSP] official biography at the Scottish Parliament website
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120318131216/http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/karen-whitefield Karen Whitefield ] profile at the site of Scottish Labour
*[http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/karen-whitefield Karen Whitefield ] profile at the site of Scottish Labour


<br>{{start box}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|sct}}
{{s-par|sct}}
{{s-new|Parliament|reason=[[Scotland Act 1998]]}}
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{{incumbent succession box | title=[[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] for [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]] | before=Constituency Created | start=[[Scottish Parliament election, 1999|1999]]}}
{{end}}
{{s-ttl
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|title=[[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] for [[Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Airdrie and Shotts]]
|years=[[1999 Scottish Parliament election|1999]]–[[2011 Scottish Parliament election|2011]]
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}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Alex Neil (politician)|Alex Neil]]}}
{{s-end}}


<br>{{CentralScotland MSPs}}
{{Former Labour MSPs|state=collapsed}}
{{Labour MSPs}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Whitefield, Karen
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =
| DATE OF BIRTH =8 January 1970
| PLACE OF BIRTH =[[Bellshill]]
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitefield, Karen}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitefield, Karen}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:1970 births]]
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[[Category:Labour MSPs]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Scottish women in politics]]
[[Category:People from Bellshill]]
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[[Category:Labour MSPs]]
[[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003]]
[[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007]]
[[Category:Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011]]
[[Category:Female members of the Scottish Parliament]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish women politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians from North Lanarkshire]]




Latest revision as of 22:00, 7 December 2024

Karen Whitefield
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Airdrie and Shotts
In office
6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011
Preceded bynew constituency
Succeeded byAlex Neil
Personal details
Born (1970-01-08) 8 January 1970 (age 54)
Bellshill, Scotland
Political partyScottish Labour

Karen Whitefield (born 8 January 1970, Bellshill) is a Scottish Labour politician. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 1999 to 2011.

Political career

[edit]

Prior to her election as MSP, she worked as a personal assistant to Rachel Squire MP.

MSP for Airdrie and Shotts: 1999–2011

[edit]

She was elected as MSP for Airdrie and Shotts at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. As an MSP, she chaired the Parliament's Education Committee, where she used her casting vote to reject the student graduate endowment bill, a Scottish National Party (SNP) flagship policy. It had the backing of the Liberal Democrats and SNP members, but not the Labour or Conservative members of the committee.[1] The bill was eventually passed through the Scottish Parliament by a vote of 67 to 61. Whitefield was Scottish Labour's shadow Minister for Children in the Scottish Parliament, and Convener of the Cross-Party Group on Diabetes under Iain Gray. At the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, she lost her seat to Alex Neil of the SNP, one of nine Labour MSPs to lose their constituency seats after holding them since the first election to the Scottish Parliament twelve years earlier.[2]

Falkirk PPC: 2015

[edit]

Following the resignation of sitting MP Eric Joyce (and the controversial and flawed 2013 Labour Party Falkirk candidate selection), in a re-run in which all the previous candidates were excluded on 8 December 2013, Whitefield was selected to contest the Falkirk constituency at the 2015 UK general election.[3] However, at the 2015 UK general election, the SNP won a landslide victory with 56 seats in Scotland; ending 51 years of dominance by Scottish Labour, and Whitehead was unsuccessful in being elected.

Labour Leadership 2021 campaign

[edit]

Following the resignation of Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, Whitefield chaired Anas Sarwar's leadership campaign. Sarwar was subsequently voted in as the Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2021.[4]

Personal life

[edit]

After her defeat at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, she subsequently became a campaign officer at USDAW. She is single and lives in the village of Glenmavis.[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MSPs reject graduate charge plan". BBC News. 13 December 2007.
  2. ^ "Scottish election: Labour's 'class of '99' lose to SNP". BBC News. BBC. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Falkirk Labour: Karen Whitefield chosen after selection row". BBC News. BBC. 8 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Former MSP to chair Anas Sarwar's Scottish Labour leadership bid". Herald Scotland. Herald Scotland. 22 January 2021.
[edit]
Scottish Parliament
New parliament
 Member of the Scottish Parliament for Airdrie and Shotts
1999–2011 		Succeeded by


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