Amy Callaghan

Amy Callaghan
Official portrait, 2020
SNP Spokesperson for Health in the House of Commons
In office 4 September 2023 – 5 July 2024
Leader	Stephen Flynn
Preceded by	Martyn Day
Succeeded by	Office not in use
SNP Spokesperson for Pensions and Intergenerational Affairs
In office 8 January 2020 – 10 December 2022
Leader	Ian Blackford
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire
In office 12 December 2019 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Jo Swinson
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Personal details
Born	(1992-05-21) 21 May 1992 (age 32)[1]
Nationality	Scottish
Political party	Scottish National Party
Education	University of Strathclyde

Amy Callaghan (born 21 May 1992)^[2] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the member of parliament (MP) for East Dunbartonshire from 2019 until 2024 when the seat was abolished and she came second in the newly established seat.^[3] She unseated the then Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, with a narrow majority of 149 votes or 0.3%, overturning her majority of 5,339 votes two years earlier.^[4] She was SNP Health spokesperson since and sat on the Health and Social Care Select Committee during her time in Parliament.^[5]

Background

Callaghan attended primary and secondary school in Clydebank.^[6] She then attended the University of Strathclyde where she gained a BA Honours in politics.^[6][7] Before pursuing a political career, Callaghan worked in retail, hospitality and social care. In 2015 she began her work with the SNP as a Parliamentary Assistant in the Scottish Parliament for the former Scottish Government Minister for Environment and Land Reform, Aileen McLeod MSP. Following the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Callaghan worked as Office Manager to Rona Mackay, the MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden.^[6]

Callaghan was diagnosed with melanoma when she was 19 and cites her experience of cancer as motivation to safeguard the NHS, saying, "It can never be jeopardised."^[8] She has been cancer-free since 2014.^[7]

In June 2020, Callaghan's office announced that she had suffered a brain haemorrhage and had undergone emergency neurosurgery.^[9] She spent four months recovering in the Physically Disabled Rehabilitation Unit at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.^[10]

Voluntary activities

Callaghan volunteered as a member of the Children’s Panel for three years.^[6][7] Her voluntary activities have also supported the Teenage Cancer Trust, Young Lives Vs Cancer and the James Lind Alliance.^[11] She has co-authored research papers aimed at helping young people with cancer.^[12]

Political career

Callaghan was selected as the Scottish National Party's candidate for the seat of East Dunbartonshire in September 2019.^[13] At the December 2019 general election, she won the seat, only narrowly beating the incumbent MP and Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson.^[7]

On 7 January 2020, she was appointed as the SNP's spokesperson for pensions and intergenerational affairs.^[14] She made her maiden speech in parliament nine days later, during which she spoke about Scottish independence and protecting the NHS from the Tories.^[15]

In March 2020, she was selected as a member of the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee.^[16] She was later discharged from the committee in June 2020 because of her brain haemorrhage and subsequent period of recovery.^[17]

During her recovery, Callaghan contributed to parliamentary debates virtually under processes that had been introduced to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.^[18] However, following the removal of these processes, in February 2022 she returned to the House of Commons to deliver a speech in person. She described her return as "against doctor's orders".^[19]

Callaghan said she was travelling to London to raise the issue of a constituent who had suffered a stroke and was struggling with financial support. In what the Daily Mirror described as a "powerful return to Parliament", she pushed the work and pensions secretary, Thérèse Coffey, to commit to "revisiting the current levels of Universal Credit", claiming that the current level of support left people "barely getting by".^[20]

She has spearheaded the campaign for a proxy voting system.^[21] In January 2022, she wrote to then Leader of the House, Jacob Rees-Mogg, urging him to bring back proxy voting and virtual participation for those with long-term health conditions; Rees-Mogg subsequently suggested he was against the introduction of digital voting as MPs would not take votes "seriously" if they participated remotely.^[22]

On her physical return to the House of Commons in February 2022, Callaghan stepped up her calls for proxy voting during a speech in parliament and in a serious of interviews including with the Daily Record.^[19] In March 2022, she raised the issue again in the House of Commons, describing parliamentary procedures as "exclusionary".^[23]

On 7 June 2022, Callaghan was forced to withdraw her comment in the House of Commons for using the word "lying" in relation to the prime minister, Boris Johnson. She criticised Johnson for "partying, lying, amending the ministerial code, voter suppression, [and] watering down human rights". The deputy speaker, Nigel Evans, interrupted Callaghan and asked her to withdraw the word "lying", which she agreed to do.^[24]

In June 2022, Callaghan's colleague Patrick Grady was found to have committed "unwanted physical touching, with sexual intent" on a junior member of the SNP Westminster Group's staff. Following an investigation by an independent expert panel, Grady was suspended from the House of Commons for two sitting days. The expert group found that Grady's behaviour was a "significant breach" of the UK Parliament's sexual misconduct policy. However, for reasons set out in the report, the expert panel concluded that the suspension from parliament "should be short".^[25]

In a leaked recording of an SNP group meeting, Callaghan can be heard telling her fellow MPs, "I think we should be rallying together for this campaign, but also regardless of our position on Patrick's situation, we should be rallying together around him to support him at this time as well. I don't think we are very good as a party at supporting each other and I think we should be making sure that he feels supported at this point, so if we can all reach out to him, or do so if you feel able to, we should probably be doing that."^[26] Her comments had been greeted with applause from colleagues, but Callaghan later issued an apology, describing her remarks as "insensitive, poorly worded and misplaced".^[27] Then First Minister and SNP party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, subsequently told the Scottish Parliament, "I cannot comment on whether [the leaked recording] is an accurate overall reflection of the discussion, but what I have heard suggests that more concern was shown for the perpetrator of the behaviour than for its victim."^[28]

Callaghan launched East Dunbartonshire’s first ever hospitality awards in June 2022 following what she described as a "a tough tough two years for the sector".^[29]

She chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer.^[30]

Callaghan was promoted to the SNP's frontbench team as Health Spokesperson in September 2023.^[31] She also sat on the UK Parliament's Health and Social Care Select Committee.^[32]

During the 2024 UK general election, Callaghan lost in her bid for re-election in the newly formed seat of Mid Dunbartonshire, trailing the Liberal Democrats' Susan Murray by 9,673 votes.^[33]

Campaigning and personal life

Callaghan is currently leading on a campaign to have VAT removed from sunscreen to reduce rates of melanoma.^[34] The campaign is supported by several leading cancer charities.^[35]

Callaghan has a small dog called Alfie.^[36]

References

1. Brunskill, Ian (19 March 2020). The Times Guide to the House of Commons 2019 : the definitive record of Britain's historic 2019 General Election. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
2. Callaghan, Amy [@AmyCallaghanSNP] (21 May 2022). "Thirty flirty and thriving" (Tweet). Retrieved 16 July 2022 – via Twitter.
3. "Dunbartonshire East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
4. Walker, Peter; Murphy, Simon; Brooks, Libby (13 December 2019). "Jo Swinson quits as Lib Dem leader after losing her own seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
5. "Health and Social Care Committee Membership". UK Parliament. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
6. "About Amy". Amy Callaghan. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
7. Diamond, Claire (17 December 2019). "Election 2019: Who is the young SNP MP who beat Jo Swinson?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
8. Walker, Lauren. "General Election 2019: Who is Amy Callaghan, the MSP who beat Jo Swinson?". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
9. Office of Amy Callaghan [@AmyCallaghanSNP] (15 June 2020). "Statement from the Office of Amy Callaghan MP" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020 – via Twitter.
10. "SNP MP Amy Callaghan out of hospital after brain haemorrhage". BBC News. 15 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
    - Callaghan, Amy [@amycallaghansnp] (15 October 2020). "After 4 months in hospital, today I've been discharged. I'm coming home. To the miracle team at @NHSGGC PDRU - now my second family - thank you. I can never, ever repay you. I was wheeled in here. Now I'm walking out. I'm just getting started too" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 October 2020 – via Twitter.
11. Callaghan, Amy (19 August 2022). "Activity". LinkedIn.
12. Aldiss, Susie; Fern, Lorna A.; Phillips, Robert S.; Callaghan, Amy; Dyker, Karen; Gravestock, Helen; Groszmann, Michael; Hamrang, Leila; Hough, Rachael; McGeachy, Demi; Morgan, Sue; Smith, Sam; Upadhyaya, Sheela; Veitch, Helen; Veitch, Lara (1 August 2019). "Research priorities for young people with cancer: a UK priority setting partnership with the James Lind Alliance". BMJ Open. 9 (8): e028119. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-028119. ISSN 2044-6055. PMC 6688702. PMID 31383701.
13. "SNP choose candidate to fight East Dunbartonshire seat". Kirkintilloch Herald. 30 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
14. "SNP Westminster reshuffle sees some big changes for the party". The National. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
15. "WATCH: Amy Callaghan's 'brilliant' maiden speech as SNP MP". The National. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
16. "Health and Social Care Committee membership agreed". UK Parliament. 2 March 2020. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
17. "Business without Debate". Hansard. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
18. Mcilkenny, Stephen. "SNP MP Amy Callaghan makes virtual return to parliament after suffering brain haemorrhage". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
19. McCall, Chris (7 February 2022). "SNP MP Amy Callaghan returns to Westminster 'against doctor's orders'". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
20. Bloom, Dan (7 February 2022). "MP who had stroke at 28 blasts 'woeful' benefits in powerful return to Commons". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
21. Duffy, Judith (20 February 2022). "Amy Callaghan steps up call for proxy voting at Westminster". The National. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
    - Mason, Richard (7 February 2022). "Amy Callaghan returns to Westminster as she blasts 'antiquated' voting rules". The National. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
22. Langford, Eleanor (10 January 2022). "Jacob Rees-Mogg Accused Of "Patronising" MPs With Reluctance To Update Voting System". Politics Home. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
23. "Business of the House". Hansard. UK Parliament. 17 March 2022.
24. Webster, Laura (7 June 2022). "SNP MP made to withdraw 'lying' Boris comment in 'outrageous' Commons moment". The National. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
25. Independent Expert Panel (14 June 2022). "The Conduct of Mr Patrick Grady MP" (PDF). House of Commons.
26. Andrews, Kieran (21 June 2022). "Patrick Grady affair shows SNP needs vital reform, say MPs". The Times.
    - Wilson, Louise (20 June 2022). "SNP MP Amy Callaghan sorry for 'insensitive' comments at Patrick Grady meeting". Holyrood.
27. "SNP MP apologises after 'insensitive' Patrick Grady comments". BBC News. 20 June 2022.
28. "First Minister's Questions - 23 June 2022". YouTube. The Scottish Parliament. 23 June 2022.
    - Green, Chris (23 June 2022). "Nicola Sturgeon hits out at 'unacceptable' SNP group meeting on Patrick Grady case". i.
29. "Bearsden patisserie crowned best hospitality business". Glasgow World. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
30. "All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (APPG CTYAC)". Teenage Cancer Trust. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
31. Scott, Kevin (4 September 2023). "Stephen Flynn reshuffles SNP frontbench team at Westminster". STV News. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
32. "Health and Social Care Committee Membership". UK Parliament. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
33. "Mid Dunbartonshire - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
34. "VAT Burn". Amy Callaghan MP. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
35. "VAT Burn". Amy Callaghan MP. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
36. "Politicians and their pets: Amy Callaghan MP". Holyrood. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

External links

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Jo Swinson	Member of Parliament for East Dunbartonshire 2019–2024	Constituency abolished