Former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, MSP for Lothian (born 1981)
Kezia Dugdale
Official portrait, 2016
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office 15 August 2015 – 29 August 2017
Deputy
Alex Rowley
UK party leader
Harriet Harman (Acting)
Jeremy Corbyn
Preceded by
Jim Murphy
Succeeded by
Richard Leonard
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office 13 December 2014 – 13 June 2015
Leader
Jim Murphy
Preceded by
Anas Sarwar
Succeeded by
Alex Rowley
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothian (1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
In office 5 May 2011 – 15 July 2019
Succeeded by
Sarah Boyack[a]
Scottish Labour portfolios
2013–2014
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
2016–2017
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
Personal details
Born
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale
(1981-08-28) 28 August 1981 (age 42) Aberdeen, Scotland
Political party
Independent (since 2019)
Other political affiliations
Labour and Co-operative (until 2019)
Spouse
Jenny Gilruth
(m. 2022)
Alma mater
University of Aberdeen University of Edinburgh
Website
Archived website
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2011 to 2019.
Born in Aberdeen and raised in Dundee, Dugdale studied law at the University of Aberdeen and Policy Studies at the University of Edinburgh, where she was a campaigns and welfare adviser. After leaving university, she worked as an election agent, political researcher and parliamentary officer. She was elected at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election on the Lothian regional list and became Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2014.
Dugdale was elected Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in the 2015 Scottish Labour leadership election. She led the party into the 2016 Scottish Parliament election; where it finished third behind the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scottish Conservatives; Dugdale failed to be elected to the Edinburgh Eastern constituency, once again being elected on the Lothian regional list. During the 2017 general election, the party held their previously sole seat and gained a further six seats from the SNP. She resigned as leader in August 2017 to "pass on the baton" to a successor who would lead the party into the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
After leaving frontbench politics, Dugdale worked as a columnist and appeared as a contestant on the seventeenth series of ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in November 2017. She later resigned her seat and Scottish Labour membership in July 2019 and accepted the role of director of the John Smith Centre for Public Service at the University of Glasgow.
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Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017...
13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015. "KeziaDugdale". www.parliament.scot. Retrieved 2022-01-30. "KeziaDugdale quits as Scottish Labour leader". 29 August...
run for the Scottish Labour leadership following the resignation of KeziaDugdale. He was characterised by opponents as being on the right of the Labour...
(SNP) led by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour led by KeziaDugdale, Scottish Conservatives led by Ruth Davidson, Scottish Liberal Democrats...
debases public life." In October 2015, Scottish Labour's then-leader KeziaDugdale told The Scotsman newspaper: "My dad will see something on Wings Over...
a relationship with KeziaDugdale, who was, at that time, leader of the Scottish Labour Party. In June 2022, Gilruth and Dugdale married in a private...
As it was for the SNP and Labour so is it now for Alba and the SNP." KeziaDugdale described the Alba Party as "fundamental nationalists" who "want an...
Constitution and Economy; later Economy, Jobs and Fair Work. After KeziaDugdale resigned as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party and acting leader Alex...
Sarwar to win the 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election, succeeding KeziaDugdale, and he later took on the role of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy...
Jim Murphy and KeziaDugdale. In the meantime, former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray took over as acting leader. On 15 August, Dugdale was elected to...
additional member for Mid Scotland and Fife. Following the resignation of KeziaDugdale, he served as acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party during the...
June. The subsequent leadership contest was won by his deputy leader KeziaDugdale. Murphy was born in Glasgow and raised in a flat in Arden. He was educated...
placed third on the Lothian regional list of Labour candidates behind KeziaDugdale and Neil Findlay, but did not return to Holyrood following the election...
Joshua Dugdale (born 1974), British documentary film-maker Ken Dugdale, soccer coach from New Zealand KeziaDugdale, Scottish politician Mark Dugdale, professional...
Iain Gray (2008–2011) Johann Lamont (2011–2014) Jim Murphy (2014–2015) KeziaDugdale (2015–2017) Richard Leonard (2017–2021) Anas Sarwar (2021–present) Deputy...
Iain Gray (2008–2011) Johann Lamont (2011–2014) Jim Murphy (2014–2015) KeziaDugdale (2015–2017) Richard Leonard (2017–2021) Anas Sarwar (2021–present) Deputy...
leadership election was triggered on 29 August 2017 by the resignation of KeziaDugdale as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, having led the party for two...
election were being simultaneously held, on account of deputy leader KeziaDugdale resigning to run for the leadership and the resignation of previous...
Parliament. Shortly after being elected she was appointed by leader KeziaDugdale as Shadow Minister for Inequalities, a role in which she campaigned...
Iain Gray (2008–2011) Johann Lamont (2011–2014) Jim Murphy (2014–2015) KeziaDugdale (2015–2017) Richard Leonard (2017–2021) Anas Sarwar (2021–present) Deputy...
dispute within the party. Subsequently, they were led by Jim Murphy, KeziaDugdale and Richard Leonard. They currently have one MP and 22 MSPs. As of 2021[update]...
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