Who is MP Margaret Ferrier; who has been suspended from Commons for 30 days over COVID breach

The House of Commons have voted to suspend MP Margaret Ferrier from the Commons for 30 days for breaching COVID lockdown rules. Margaret won the seat for SNP (Scottish National Party) with a majority of 5,230 in the 2019 but has since sat as an independent after losing the party whip. 

She has previously said that she ‘deeply regretted’ her actions but still refused to resign despite many of her colleagues calling for her to do so. During the COVID pandemic Margaret broke regulations after she visited a church, a bar, beauty salon and travelled on a train to London and back to Glasgow whilst having the virus. 

Who is Margaret Ferrier? 

Margaret was born on 10 September 1960 and brought up in the King’s Park area of Glasgow where she attended the catholic school Holyrood Secondary. After spending two years living in Mallorca Margaret moved to Rutherglen in 1972. 

Before politics Margaret was a commercial sales supervisor for manufacturing company Motherwell. 

Political Career 

When she was younger she was a Scottish Labour member before joining the Rutherglen branch of the SNP in 2011.

Margaret is a Scottish politician for Rutherglen and Hamilton West since 2015. She is a former member of the SNP and was first elected to the House of Commons in 2015. She lost her seat to Ged Killen of the Labour Party in 2017 but regained it again two years later. 

She was suspended in 2020 for violating COVID lockdown rules and was later arrested for ‘culpable and reckless conduct’.

Today (June 6) The House of Commons voted for Margaret to be suspended for 30 days which will lead to a  recall petition and possibly a by-election.

Is Margaret Ferrier married? 

It is not known whether Margaret is married or has ever been married but she does have a daughter and the pair live in Halfway, South Lanarkshire.