Sandra White

Sandra White (born 17 August 1951) is a retired Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 until 2011, and then the MSP for the Glasgow Kelvin constituency from 2011 until she stood down from the Scottish Parliament at the May 2021 election.

Sandra White
Deputy Convener of the
Scottish Parliament
Public Petitions Committee
In office
14 June 2011 – 25 March 2021
Preceded byJohn Farquhar Munro
Succeeded byTBD
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow Kelvin
In office
5 May 2011 – 25 March 2021
Preceded byPauline McNeill
Succeeded byKaukab Stewart
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office
6 May 1999 – 5 May 2011
Personal details
Born
Sandra Harley

(1951-08-17) 17 August 1951
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party

Political career

White served as an SNP councillor in Renfrewshire. She contested Glasgow Kelvin in 1999, where she came second to the Labour Party candidate by 4,408 votes, but was elected to the Scottish Parliament on the Glasgow regional list. She was re-elected in 2003, topping the SNP's list of candidates for that region. Contesting Glasgow Kelvin that year she again came second to Labour, this time by the smaller margin of 3,289 votes.[1]

White was re-elected on the regional list in 2007. In the 2011 election, she again contested the Glasgow Kelvin seat, this time defeating the sitting Labour MSP Pauline McNeill by 882 votes. White served as an SNP Parliamentary group whip in the first parliamentary session and sat on the parliament's Public Petitions Committee and Equal Opportunities Committee.[2][3][4]

White holds her party's Deputy Social Justice portfolio. Her campaigns include against closures and downgrading (including a 1,600 signature petition) at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill and the Queen Mother's Hospital.[2][3][4] She has also campaigned against racism[5] and for improved treatment of asylum seekers, including joining an occupation against 'dawn raids'.[6]

Her other campaigns have included the successful attempts to save the 7:84 theatre group from threatened loss of funding by the Scottish Arts Council[7] and involvement in Stop the War Coalition events,[8] while high-profile constituency work has included the August 2006 case of an 86-year-old widow who was threatened with court by Glasgow Housing Association.[9]

In August 2020, White announced that she would not be standing for re-election at the upcoming Holyrood election.[10]

Controversies

In November 2015 White re-tweeted an antisemitic cartoon showing piglets suckling a large pig with the word “Rothschild” written on it and showing a bank with a Star of David.[11] The tweet had originally been sent by a Twitter user who had repeatedly posted antisemitic messages and images.[11] After The Jewish Chronicle brought the tweet to the attention of the SNP, the party's spokesperson said the tweet had been re-tweeted in error, and had since been deleted.[11]

Personal life

White was born on 17 August 1951 to Elizabeth Rodgers and Henry Harley. She married David White in 1971, and has two sons and one daughter. Her interests outside politics are walking, reading and gardening.[12]

References
  1. "Scottishpolitics.com". Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  2. "Health chiefs to come under fire over plans for hospital closure". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 20 January 2004. Archived from the original on 19 May 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  3. "Board expected to close maternity hospital". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. 20 April 2004. Archived from the original on 9 September 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  4. "Baby hospital closure confirmed". BBC News. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  5. "Westminster 'hampers' racism plan". BBC News. 10 February 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  6. "Protesters in 'asylum raid' demo". BBC News. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  7. "7:84 group fears 'elitist' arts council will cut cash". Sunday Herald. 2 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  8. "Scots protests at Israeli action". BBC News. 22 July 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  9. "MSP seeks law change after OAP's 'nonsense' court case". Evening Times. Glasgow. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  10. "SNP MSP Sandra White to quit Holyrood at next election". BBC News. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  11. Dysch, Marcus (9 November 2015). "SNP politician apologises for 'offence caused' by antisemitic tweet". The Jewish Chronicle. London. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  12. Who's who (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2017.
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