Cara Hilton
| Cara Hilton | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dunfermline | |
|
In office 25 October 2013 – 24 March 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Bill Walker |
| Succeeded by | Shirley-Anne Somerville |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party | Scottish Labour Party |
| Residence | Dunfermline |
Cara Laura Hilton is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dunfermline from 2013 to 2016.[1]
Personal life
She is the daughter of former Labour MSP Cathy Peattie.[2] Her husband is Simon, and she has three children.
Political career
Hilton was the Labour candidates at the Dunfermline by-election on 20 October 2013. She won by a majority of more than 2,800 votes, overturning a previous SNP majority of 590. This was the first time ever that Labour had won a parliamentary seat (in either the UK or Scottish parliaments) from the SNP at a by-election.
In her victory speech, Hilton praised the courage of preceding MSP Bill Walker's ex-wives. Walker's conviction for assault against his former wives had led to his resignation from parliament, causing the by-election.[3] Alex Salmond accused her of running a dishonest campaign, including the circulation of a leaflet criticised by the SNP as "demonstrably untrue".[4]
In the Scottish Parliament election of 2016, Hilton lost her seat to the Scottish National Party's Shirley-Anne Somerville. Along with the loss of the neighbouring Cowdenbeath constituency, this left the Labour Party without parliamentary representation in Fife for the first time since 1910.
References
- ↑ "Labour and SNP pick Dunfermline by-election candidates". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
- ↑ "Cara Hilton picked as Labour candidate for Dunfermline by-election". STV News. Retrieved 2013-09-19.
- ↑ "New Dunfermline MSP praises 'bravery' of Bill Walker's ex-wives". 25 October 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ↑ "Labour campaign leaflet brings claims of panic". 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.