Martin Docherty-Hughes

Martin John Docherty-Hughes (born 21 January 1971)[1] is a Scottish National Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dunbartonshire since 2015. He has served as SNP Defence Spokesperson since 2023.[2]

Not to be confused with Martin Doherty.

Martin Docherty-Hughes
MP
Official portrait, 2017
SNP Defence Spokesperson
in the House of Commons
Assumed office
4 September 2023
LeaderStephen Flynn
Preceded byDave Doogan
Chief Whip of the Scottish National Party
in the House of Commons
In office
7 December 2022 – 17 January 2023
LeaderStephen Flynn
Preceded byOwen Thompson
Succeeded byBrendan O'Hara
Member of Parliament
for West Dunbartonshire
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byGemma Doyle
Majority9,553 (21.2%)
Personal details
Born
Martin John Docherty

(1971-01-21) 21 January 1971
Clydebank, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materGlasgow Metropolitan College
University of Essex
Glasgow School of Art
Websitemartindocherty.scot

Early life and education

Docherty-Hughes was raised by his parents in Clydebank, and began working from the age of 16.[3] He studied at the Glasgow College of Food Technology, now City of Glasgow College, graduating with an HND in Business Administration in 1997.[3] He subsequently obtained a degree in Politics from the University of Essex and attended the Glasgow School of Art for his master's degree.[3] On finishing his studies Martin returned to Clydebank and worked for a decade for the West Dunbartonshire Community and Volunteering Services (WDCVS).[3]

Political career

He joined the Scottish National Party in 1991, and was elected the following year as Scotland's youngest councillor to the-then Clydebank District Council in May 1992, at the age of 21, until 31 March 1996.[4] He was elected to the third seat of the Anderston/City ward of the Glasgow City Council on 3 May 2012 polling 1,057 votes and 19.9% and exceeding the quota on the second count, becoming a Bailie until 14 May 2015.

In February 2015, he was selected as the SNP candidate for the West Dunbartonshire constituency in the 2015 UK general election.[5] He defeated incumbent Gemma Doyle, winning 30,198 votes and 59% of the vote.[6][7] As a consequence of his election to Parliament, he stepped down from his position on Glasgow City Council.

He changed his name from Docherty to Docherty-Hughes after getting married in January 2016.[8]

The descendant of a woman from Ballinglen, County Mayo and a man from Stralongford in County Donegal, he is also a relative of Ian McGarvey and has many relatives scattered around Philadelphia and New York.[9]

He was appointed as Chief Whip following the 2022 SNP Westminster Group Leadership contest by new leader, Stephen Flynn.[10]

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. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-00-839258-1. OCLC 1129682574.
  2. "SNP announces frontbench reshuffle at Westminster". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. Hannah, Martin (4 June 2015). "Meet your new Scottish MPs: #19 Martin Docherty West Dunbartonshire". The National. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  4. Profile, snp.org; accessed 23 June 2016.
  5. "SNP candidate ready for election 'battle'". Dumbarton Reporter. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  6. "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  7. SNP wins West Dunbartonshire, bbc.co.uk; accessed 8 May 2015.
  8. "Connecting People Through News". Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via PressReader.
  9. Walsh, Paddy (24 March 2022). "MPs lay claim to deep Donegal roots in House of Commons debate". Donegal News. p. 13. Next to his feet was Martin Docherty-Hughes (Dunbartonshire West) of the Scottish National Party. As someone with probably one of the longest Irish names in history - Máirtín Seán Ó Dochartaigh-Aodha - it would, he insisted, have been remiss of him not to have participated in the debate... 'I was delighted to be there to welcome the then Mayor of Letterkenny' - Councillor Ian McGarvey - 'who was related which was great'. Speaking during the House of Commons debate on the Irish Diaspora in Britain, promoted by Rochdale Labour MP Tony Lloyd, on 17 March 2022.
  10. "New SNP leader at Westminster Stephen Flynn sacks chief whip". thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
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