Pam Duncan-Glancy

Pam Duncan-Glancy (born 2 November 1981)^[1] is a Scottish Labour politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since May 2021.^[2] She is the first permanent wheelchair user elected to the Scottish Parliament.^[3]

Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP
Official portrait, 2021
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow (1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2021
Scottish Labour portfolios
2021–2023	Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Security
2023–present	Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
Personal details
Born	(1981-11-02) 2 November 1981 (age 43)
Political party	Scottish Labour
Alma mater	University of Stirling Glasgow Caledonian University
Website	www.GlasgowPam.scot

Early life and career

Duncan-Glancy has a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Health Psychology from the University of Stirling, and a Postgraduate certificate in Citizenship and Human Rights from Glasgow Caledonian University.^[4] She sat on the Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy^[5] and on the Commission on Parliamentary Reform.^[6] Prior to her election, she worked in public health communications for NHS Health Scotland.^[4]

Political career

Duncan-Glancy contested Glasgow North for the general elections in 2017 and 2019, but came second to Patrick Grady, the incumbent SNP MP. She received a 34.5% share of the vote in 2017 and a 31.4% share in 2019.^[7]

On 1 March 2021, despite not being a parliamentarian at the time, she became Scottish Labour's spokesperson for Social Security in the Scottish Parliament.^[8][9]

After being a Labour member for approximately twenty years, Duncan-Glancy became a Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) in 2021. Duncan-Glancy stood in Glasgow Kelvin in 2021 and came third to SNP candidate Kaukab Stewart, but was elected on the Glasgow regional list on 8 May 2021.^[10] She was selected for the seat following the previous candidate's deselection for comments suggesting she "respected the right" for Scotland to have another independence referendum. Eleven members of the Kelvin Labour executive committee resigned in protest and refused to campaign for Duncan-Glancy.^[11]

During the election count, Duncan-Glancy received significant coverage as she highlighted the issues disabled candidates face when she was denied access to the Glasgow vote count due to the venue's lack of accessibility.^[9][12]

Duncan-Glancy backed the UK Government’s decision to introduce means-testing for the Winter Fuel Payment, voting in the Scottish Parliament against calls to reverse the decision.^[13]