Kezia Dugdale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kezia Dugdale
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Official portrait, 2016
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| Leader of the Opposition in Scotland | |
| In office 13 December 2014 – 6 May 2016 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Preceded by | Jackie Baillie |
| Succeeded by | Ruth Davidson |
| Leader of the Scottish Labour Party | |
| In office 15 August 2015 – 29 August 2017 |
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| Deputy | Alex Rowley |
| UK party leader |
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| Preceded by | Jim Murphy |
| Succeeded by | Richard Leonard |
| Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party | |
| In office 13 December 2014 – 13 June 2015 |
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| Leader | Jim Murphy |
| Preceded by | Anas Sarwar |
| Succeeded by | Alex Rowley |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothian (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) |
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| In office 5 May 2011 – 15 July 2019 |
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| Succeeded by | Sarah Boyack |
| Scottish Labour portfolios | |
| 2016–2017 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution |
| 2013–2014 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale
28 August 1981 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 |
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born August 28, 1981) is a Scottish former politician. She was the leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. Before that, she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian area from 2011 to 2019.
Kezia Dugdale was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Dundee. She studied law at the University of Aberdeen and later policy studies at the University of Edinburgh. After finishing her studies, she worked in politics as a researcher and adviser. She was first elected as an MSP in 2011 and became the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2014.
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Early Life and Education
Kezia Dugdale was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on August 28, 1981. She went to Harris Academy in Dundee for secondary school, where she was the Head Girl.
From 1999 to 2003, she studied law at the University of Aberdeen. Later, from 2004 to 2006, she earned a master's degree in policy studies from the University of Edinburgh. While at university, she helped students with campaigns and welfare. She also worked for the National Union of Students Scotland.
Starting Her Political Journey
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Kezia Dugdale was involved with the Scottish Labour Party's Policy Forum from 2006 to 2008. She also helped with election campaigns for other politicians. She volunteered as a researcher for a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).
From 2007 to 2011, she worked for George Foulkes, who was an MSP for the Lothian region. She managed his office and advised him on political matters.
Becoming an MSP
In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Kezia Dugdale was elected as an MSP for the Lothian region. She was a member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party. She served on committees that dealt with local government and laws. In 2013, she became the Scottish Labour Party's spokesperson for education.
In 2014, Kezia Dugdale won the election to become the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Because the leader, Jim Murphy, was not an MSP, she often spoke for the party during First Minister's Questions. In 2015, she stepped down as deputy leader to run for the main leadership role.
Leading the Scottish Labour Party
During her campaign to become leader in 2015, Kezia Dugdale suggested ending the special tax breaks for private schools in Scotland. She believed this would make things fairer for state schools. She also said that the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament, should not have unelected members. She thought it should be moved to Glasgow.
On August 15, 2015, she won the leadership election, becoming the new leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
Views on UK Labour Leadership
In August 2015, Kezia Dugdale was asked who she supported in the election for the leader of the UK Labour Party. She did not say publicly at first. However, she did express doubts about whether Jeremy Corbyn could become Prime Minister. After Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader, she later shared that she had voted for Yvette Cooper.
2016 Scottish Parliament Election
Kezia Dugdale led the Scottish Labour Party into the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Her campaign focused on increasing income tax to help fund public services, especially education. This was to address what she saw as underfunding by the Scottish National Party government.
In the election, the Scottish Labour Party finished third, behind the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Conservatives. The party lost many of its local constituency seats. However, Kezia Dugdale was still elected as an MSP for the Lothian region through a different system that helps balance election results.
Calling for Change in UK Labour
In June 2016, Kezia Dugdale called for Jeremy Corbyn to resign as the leader of the UK Labour Party. She said that if most of his own Members of Parliament (MPs) did not support him, he could not lead the party effectively. She later supported Owen Smith in the 2016 UK Labour Party leadership election.
2017 UK General Election
Kezia Dugdale was still the leader of the Scottish Labour Party during the 2017 United Kingdom general election. In the previous 2015 election, the party had lost almost all its seats in Scotland. For the 2017 election, she again campaigned for an income tax increase to help education.
The results of the 2017 election saw the Scottish Labour Party gain seven seats. This was an improvement from the previous election. However, the party still came in third place in Scotland, behind the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives.
On August 29, 2017, Kezia Dugdale announced she was stepping down as leader of Scottish Labour. She said it was time to "pass on the baton" to someone new who could prepare the party for the next Scottish Parliament election in 2021.
After Leadership
In November 2017, Kezia Dugdale appeared as a contestant on the TV reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! She later said that she knew appearing on the show was a "political gamble." She wanted to show that politicians are not all the same. She also promised to donate part of her earnings from the show to charity.
In 2018, she was involved in a legal disagreement with a blogger about comments she made in a newspaper column. The court decided that while her comments were incorrect, her article was protected as fair comment.
On April 29, 2019, Kezia Dugdale announced she would resign as an MSP. She took on a new role as director of the John Smith Centre for Public Service at the University of Glasgow. She officially resigned as an MSP on July 15, 2019. The next day, Sarah Boyack took her place. In October 2019, it was also announced that she had left the Scottish Labour Party.
In March 2024, Kezia Dugdale became the Associate Director of the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow.
Personal Life
Kezia Dugdale is married to Jenny Gilruth. They were married in June 2022.
In September 2017, she was named Politician of the Year at the Icon Awards, which celebrates Scotland's LGBT community.
Her interests include theatre, Scottish crime novels, and the city of Edinburgh. She supports Hibernian F.C., a football club. She has lived in the Lochend and Meadowbank areas of Edinburgh since 2006. She is a member of two trade unions, Unite the Union and Community. From 2014 to 2018, she wrote a weekly column for the Daily Record newspaper.
