Member of the Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh Eastern
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2016
Preceded by
Kenny MacAskill
Personal details
Born
Sarah Jane Regan
(1974-03-08) 8 March 1974 (age 50) Biggar, Scotland
Political party
Alba (since 2023)
Other political affiliations
Scottish National Party (until 2023)
Spouse
Robert Denham
(m. 2000; div. 2020)
Children
2
Alma mater
Keele University Open University
Ashten Regan (formerly Denham, born Sarah Jane Regan; 8 March 1974) is a Scottish politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Eastern since 2016. Initially elected to parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP), she defected to the Alba Party.[1][2] Regan served under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the minister for community safety from 2018 until she resigned in 2022 in protest against her government's Gender Recognition Reform bill.
A native of Biggar, Regan moved to Devon, England, and studied international relations at Keele University in Staffordshire. After graduating, she moved to London – working in public relations – and gained a diploma at the London School of Public Relations. She returned to Scotland in 2003. She earned a Master of Science in development management at the Open University and worked in digital marketing. She first got involved in politics when she became head of campaigns and advocacy at the Common Weal, a left-wing pro-Scottish independence think tank. In the campaign for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Regan campaigned for Yes Scotland and was a member of the Women for Independence's national committee. In the aftermath of the referendum defeat, she joined the SNP and was later selected as a candidate for the Edinburgh Eastern constituency in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. After a successful campaign, she sat as a backbencher, before being appointed to the Scottish Government in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's 2018 cabinet reshuffle. Regan resigned in October 2022 in protest against the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the first SNP minister to resign to vote against government policy since the party entered office in 2007.
Following the announcement of Sturgeon's intention to resign the leadership of the SNP and as First Minister of Scotland, Regan announced her candidacy in the 2023 leadership contest. Her campaign was endorsed by Alba Party leader and former SNP leader and first minister, Alex Salmond. She finished last of three candidates with 11.1% of the vote and was eliminated in the first round of voting. On 28 October 2023, Regan announced her defection from the SNP to the Alba Party and was subsequently appointed the party's parliamentary leader. She is the first (and only) Alba Party member of the Scottish Parliament, having been elected as an SNP member.
^Cite error: The named reference Scotsdefect was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Ash Regan". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
Nominations closed on 24 February 2023 with three candidates: Kate Forbes, AshRegan, and Humza Yousaf being presented to the electorate of party members....
the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and member of the Scottish parliament AshRegan defected on 28 October 2023. Several former SNP MPs also joined the party...
Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, while his opponents Kate Forbes and AshRegan opposed it. As confirmed on 27 March 2023, Yousaf had won the leadership...
source of the name Reginald. AshRegan (born 1974), Scottish politician Bill Regan (disambiguation), several people Bob Regan (born 1947), American country...
in SNP as AshRegan recruits ex-Alba member". The National. Retrieved 28 October 2023. Gordon, Tom (28 October 2023). "Turncoat MSP AshRegan previously...
Cass Review should be proposed by clinicians and not by politicians. AshRegan, an MSP who had defected from the SNP to the Alba Party, launched a motion...
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former Minister for Community Safety AshRegan become the first two candidates to announce they will stand in the Scottish...
Development and Minister with special responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine. AshRegan resigned as Minister for Community Safety in October 2022. Elena Whitham...
preference votes, but after AshRegan was eliminated he picked up a total of 52.1% of second preference votes among Regan's voters, delivering him a narrow...
Fitzpatrick, Tara (28 October 2023). "Former first minister candidate AshRegan quits SNP to join Alba party". STV News. Retrieved 28 October 2023. Scottish...
preferred AshRegan. The same poll indicated that 20% of 2021 SNP voters preferred Forbes as first minister, compared to 18% for Yousaf and 9% for Regan. Forbes...
2022 under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, following the resignation of AshRegan. As a child her family emigrated to Quebec, Whitham returned to Scotland...
August 2019 Alex Cole-Hamilton, Liberal Democrat since 20 August 2021 AshRegan, Alba since 28 October 2023 Structure Seats 129 Political groups Government...
candidates due to an electoral alliance with the Co-operative Party. AshRegan was first elected for the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2016 before...
had been next on Labour's North East Scotland regional list. AshRegan was elected as Ash Denham in 2016. Ruth Maguire is the daughter of MSP John Finnie...
representation. As of the 2021 election, the Scottish National Party have four MSPs: Ash Denham for Edinburgh Eastern, Ben Macpherson for Edinburgh Northern and Leith...
day, she was released without charge. Some SNP politicians, including AshRegan MSP, called for Sturgeon to be suspended from the party, but new leader...
McAlpine Mark McDonald Aileen McLeod Dennis Robertson Jean Urquhart Bill Walker Paul Wheelhouse 2013 Christian Allard 2016 Jeane Freeman AshRegan Gail Ross...
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Preceded by Paul Wheelhouse Succeeded by AshRegan Minister for Youth and Women's Employment In office 21 November 2014 –...
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former Minister for Community Safety AshRegan become the first two candidates to announce they will stand in the Scottish...
outgoing FM were more likely to vote for his opponents, Kate Forbes and AshRegan. Sturgeon plans to publish a memoir with Pan MacMillan in 2025. Sturgeon...
Unionist Party in protest at the impact of the Northern Ireland Protocol. AshRegan resigns as Scottish Minister for Community Safety. 29 October – ITV News...
McAlpine Mark McDonald Aileen McLeod Dennis Robertson Jean Urquhart Bill Walker Paul Wheelhouse 2013 Christian Allard 2016 Jeane Freeman AshRegan Gail Ross...
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