Patrick Grady

Patrick John Grady (born 5 February 1980) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician.[1] He was elected at the 2015 UK general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North.[2] He was re-elected for the same constituency in the 2017 general election on 8 June 2017, and in the 2019 general election on 12 December 2019.

Patrick Grady
MP
House of Commons Official portrait, 2019
SNP Chief Whip
In office
9 June 2017 – 10 March 2021
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byMichael Weir
Member of Parliament
for Glasgow North
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byAnn McKechin
Majority5,601 (15.5%)
Personal details
Born
Patrick John Grady

(1980-02-05) 5 February 1980
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party (In Parliament)
Plaid Cymru
Alma materUniversity of Strathclyde
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

He was born in Edinburgh, UK. He was brought up in Inverness and was educated at Inverness Royal Academy, before attending the University of Strathclyde.[3] Between 2011 and 2015, he worked as an advocacy manager for the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, and has also lived and worked in London and Malawi.

Political career

After joining the Scottish National Party in 1997, aged seventeen, he stood at the 2010 general election as the SNP candidate for Glasgow North.[4] In 2012, he was elected as National Secretary of the SNP until he stood down in 2016.[4] He headed the "Yes" campaign in the Kelvin area of Glasgow during the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence.[5]

After being elected to the House of Commons, he was appointed as SNP Westminster Spokesperson on International Development and was a member of the House of Commons Procedure Committee until the 2017 election.[6] Like several SNP MPs and MSPs, he also holds membership of Plaid Cymru, although this has no formal effect in the House of Commons.[7] After the 2017 election, he was appointed as Chief Whip of the SNP Westminster Group, and was re-appointed to this role after the 2019 election.[8]

In March 2021, Grady stood aside from his position as Chief Whip following the SNP confirming it had received a complaint of sexual misconduct by an SNP researcher.[9][10][11][12]

In March 2021, newspapers reported that an anonymous letter sent to the Speaker John Bercow in 2017 claimed "A member of staff recently left the SNP who was groped sexually by Patrick Grady at last year's Christmas Party. There was another male staff member who was groped sexually by Mr Grady the same night of last year".[13]

Scottish Conservative MP John Lamont wrote to SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford in 2021 urging him to explain why no action was taken after sexual harassment allegations were made against Grady four years earlier, and why the party had not suspended him whilst the investigation was underway.[14]

In April 2021, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that she was aware of a concern about Grady before a misconduct complaint was made against him.[10] On 16 April, a story appeared in The Times stating that the alleged sexual harassment complaint against Patrick Grady had been upheld. Grady, 42, allegedly “inappropriately” touched an SNP male staff member, then aged 19, in a London pub, the alleged victim was then in a meeting with Ian Blackford, SNP Westminster leader and Patrick Grady regarding the matter, that the alleged victim described as an "ambush". [15]

References
  1. "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. Profile, bbc.co.uk; accessed 8 May 2015.
  3. Leask, David (1 June 2015). "Analysis: SNP bucks trend for privately educated MPs". The Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  4. "Patrick Grady". The SNP. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  5. Braiden, Gerry (18 September 2014). "Key battlegrounds: Glasgow". The Herald. Newsquest. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. "Patrick Grady MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  7. "I sit on the SNP benches, but I'm a Plaid Cymru member too - Grady". BBC News. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  8. "Patrick Grady MP, Glasgow North - TheyWorkForYou". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. "SNP chief whip steps aside following harassment complaint". BBC News. 10 March 2021.
  10. "Sturgeon 'aware of a concern' about MP Patrick Grady". BBC News. 15 March 2021.
  11. "Patrick Grady stands down as SNP chief whip 'amid sexual harassment allegations'". Belfasttelegraph – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.
  12. Barrie, Douglas (10 March 2021). "Patrick Grady stands down as SNP chief whip 'amid sexual harassment allegations'". www.standard.co.uk.
  13. Crichton, Torcuil; Hutcheon, Paul (11 March 2021). "SNP MP poses with young workers on night he's accused of sexually harassing teen". Daily Record.
  14. Settle, Michael (17 March 2021). "Scots Tories urge Blackford to explain why SNP did not act on sexual harassment complaint against MP". The Herald.
  15. Boothman, John. "Sexual harassment complaints against SNP MPS are upheld".
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