Paul McLennan
Paul McLennan | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) McLennan in 2024 | |
| Minister for Housing | |
| In office 29 March 2023 – 11 June 2025 | |
| First Minister | Humza Yousaf John Swinney |
| Preceded by | Margaret Burgess |
| Succeeded by | Màiri McAllan (as Cabinet Secretary) |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs East Lothian (2021–2026) | |
| Assumed office 6 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Iain Gray |
| Majority | 418 (1.1%) |
| Member of East Lothian Council for Dunbar and East Linton | |
| In office 3 May 2007 – 5 May 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 1966 (age 59)[1] Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland |
| Party | Scottish National Party |
| Spouse | Sharron McLennan |
| Children | 2 |
Paul Stewart McLennan is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Housing from 2023 to 2025.[2][3] A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs, previously East Lothian, since 2021.[4]
Personal life
McLennan is married to his wife Sharron, with whom he has two children, Scott and Kirsty. He is a lifelong resident of Dunbar.[5]
Political career
McLennan joined the SNP at approximately 25 years old.[6]
He served as a local councillor for the Dunbar and East Linton multi-member ward of East Lothian Council from 2007 until 2022[7] having previously been an unsuccessful candidate in earlier elections to single-member wards,[8] and was both the SNP group leader and the council leader from 2007-12. He has been a board member of NHS Lothian, the regional offices of Scottish Enterprise and the Commission on School Reform.[7]
McLennan is East Lothian's first SNP MSP, with the constituency having been previously held exclusively by Scottish Labour for 22 years.[9]
In June 2025, McLennan resigned as Housing Minister. In his resignation letter he said that following a "a recent, though thankfully short, period of ill health" he believed that he should stand down.[10] He had been appointed to the position by Humza Yousaf in 2023.[11]
In the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, McLennan stood for re-election in the redrawn East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs constituency within the new Edinburgh and Lothians East electoral region.[12] Despite a national swing against his party, he retained the seat with a reduced vote share of 32.7% and a narrowed majority of 418 votes.
References
- ↑ "Paul MCLENNAN - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
Date of birth: December 1966
- ↑ "Full ministerial team confirmed". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ↑ "McAllan to tackling housing emergency in Swinney reshuffle". BBC News. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "East Lothian - Scottish Parliament constituency". BBC News.
- ↑ "Scottish Parliament Election 2021: Statement from East Lothian constituency SNP candidate Paul McLennan". East Lothian Courier. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ↑ Shrinkliser Interviews: Paul McLennan MSP. YouTube. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
- 1 2 Elect Paul McLennan for East Lothian, Scottish National Party, 2 February 2021
- ↑ Scottish Council Elections 2003 (page 48 on PDF, page 28 on scan), H. M. Bochel, D. T. Denver
- ↑ "SNP's Paul McLennan elected East Lothian's new MSP". East Lothian Courier. 7 May 2021.
- ↑ "Letter of resignation: Housing Minister Paul McLennan". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ Turner, Liam (3 April 2023). "Scottish government appoints dedicated minister for Housing". Housing Digital. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ "Paul McLennan MSP column: East Lothian's next MSP must put people before Westminster". East Lothian Courier. 13 June 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
External links
- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Paul McLennan