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Annie Wells (politician)

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Annie Wells
MSP
Official portrait, 2016
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
In office
14 February 2020 – 12 August 2020
Serving with Liam Kerr
LeaderJackson Carlaw
Preceded byJackson Carlaw
Succeeded byMeghan Gallacher[a]
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Scottish Conservative portfolios
Feb–Aug 2020Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform
2020–2021Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
May–Sep 2021Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Personal details
Born
Carol Ann Wells

(1972-02-24) 24 February 1972 (age 52)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyScottish Conservatives
OccupationFood retail manager
Websitewww.anniewells.org.uk

Carol Ann "Annie" Wells (born 24 February 1972) is a British politician of the Scottish Conservatives, who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party to Jackson Carlaw in 2020. She has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016.

The Deputy Leadership position was abolished on 12 August 2020, shortly after Douglas Ross was appointed Scottish Conservative Leader.

Early life and career

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Hailing from Springburn, Wells worked as a retail manager for Marks & Spencer in various locations throughout Glasgow for the 12 years leading up to her election.[1][2]

Political career

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Wells became involved in politics during the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum by joining the Better Together campaign and stood as the Scottish Conservative candidate in Glasgow North East in the 2015 general election, finishing third with 4.7% of the vote.[3] She also unsuccessfully contested the Glasgow Provan constituency at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, finishing third with 8.6% of the vote, but was elected via the Glasgow regional list.[4][5]

Shortly after her election, Wells was made Scottish Conservative Spokesperson for Welfare Reform and Equalities.[6] She sits on the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Scottish Parliament.[7]

In late 2018, Wells was banned from Holyrood for leaking an embargoed committee report to the press. After a complaint was made that the MSP had "sought political advantage" by speaking out about prisoner voting before a report had been published, the parliament's standards committee unanimously ruled that Wells had breached the code of conduct for MSPs.[8]

Wells served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, alongside Liam Kerr, under Jackson Carlaw. However, they both were dismissed and the post was abolished when Douglas Ross became leader in August 2020.[9]

On 12 January 2022, Wells called for Boris Johnson to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the Westminster lockdown parties controversy along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.[10]

In July 2022, she endorsed Penny Mordaunt in the Conservative Party leadership election.[11]

Personal life

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Wells is a single mother and is a lesbian.[1][12] She is a Celtic F.C. fan.[13]

Notes

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  1. ^ Office vacant between 12 August 2020 and 9 May 2022.

References

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  1. ^ a b Rodger, Hannah (27 August 2015). "Conservatives are giving a voice to women". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Annie Wells MSP - MCNEILL & STONE". Mcneillandstone.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Glasgow North East parliamentary constituency - Election 2015 - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. ^ Brooks, Libby (2 May 2016). "Scottish elections: new faces of Holyrood 2016". The Guardian.
  5. ^ "Election 2016: Glasgow. Scottish Parliament region". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Scottish Conservative appointments for new parliamentary term". Scottish Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Membership". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Tory MSP Annie Wells faces week-long Holyrood ban over report leak". BBC. 1 November 2018.
  9. ^ Sanderson, Daniel (11 August 2020). "Ruth Davidson's return to frontline politics confirmed as Douglas Ross announces first reshuffle". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. ^ Green, Chris [@ChrisGreenNews] (12 January 2022). "Majority of Scottish Tories' 31 MSPs at Holyrood now openly calling for the Prime Minister to resign" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Wells, Annie [@anniewellsmsp] (12 July 2022). "As the leadership campaign continues, I've no doubt this trend will continue.
    @PennyMordaunt not only has the strength and resolve to address the biggest challenges across the UK, but as an unequivocal unionist, she'll take the fight directly to the SNP"     (Tweet). Retrieved 12 July 2022 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Allegretti, Aubrey (22 May 2016). "How Scotland Became The World Leader on Lesbian, Gay And Bisexual Representation". HuffPost.
  13. ^ "'Not many' Rangers fans among SNP politicians, says Tory MSP".
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