Duncan McNeil

Not to be confused with Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay.

Duncan McNeil (born 7 September 1950) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency from 1999 until 2016.

Duncan McNeil
Official portrait, 2011
Convener of the Health and Sport Committee
In office 15 June 2011 – 24 March 2016
Preceded by	Christine Grahame
Succeeded by	Neil Findlay
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde
In office 6 May 1999 – 24 March 2016
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Stuart McMillan
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-07) 7 September 1950 (age 74) Greenock, Scotland
Political party	Scottish Labour Party
Residence	Greenock
Website	http://duncanmcneil.com/

Career

McNeil campaigning in Greenock

Born in Greenock, McNeil worked as a boilermaker at Scott Lithgow from 1965 to 1979, initially as an apprentice. After working as a co-ordinator for the Unemployed Workers Centres in Glasgow he became a full-time official in the GMB Union in 1981 and later a regional organiser.

For six years prior to his election from his current constituency, in May 1999, he was on the Labour Party's Scottish Executive Committee.

McNeil served on the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee for 15 months and went on to become Labour's Chief Whip. He was elected to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in December 2001.

Following re-election in May 2003, Mr McNeil departed the Whips' Office to be Chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party. Additionally, he became convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee.

He caused controversy in 2006 when suggesting in a parliamentary debate that oral contraceptives should be added to prescribed methadone for drug addicts in order to limit the number of children born to parents with a history of substance abuse.

He has been a vocal campaigner for tougher penalties for knife crime and for better support and protection for vulnerable children.

External links

• Duncan McNeil's Website
• Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Duncan McNeil
• https://www.theyworkforyou.com/msp/duncan_mcneil
• http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?mpc=Greenock+and+Inverclyde&house=scotland
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110506142811/http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/msp/duncan_mcneil/764/
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/32616.stm Archived 2 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Scottish Parliament
New parliament Scotland Act 1998	Member of the Scottish Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde 1999–2016	Succeeded by Stuart McMillan