Martin Docherty-Hughes

Not to be confused with Martin Doherty.

Martin John Docherty-Hughes (born 21 January 1971)^[1] is a Scottish National Party politician. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dunbartonshire from 2015 until his defeat in 2024.^[2] He has also served as SNP Defence Spokesperson from 2023 to 2024.

Martin Docherty-Hughes
Official portrait, 2017
SNP Defence Spokesperson in the House of Commons
In office 4 September 2023 – 5 July 2024
Leader	Stephen Flynn
Preceded by	Dave Doogan
Succeeded by	Position Abolished
Chief Whip of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
In office 7 December 2022 – 17 January 2023
Leader	Stephen Flynn
Preceded by	Owen Thompson
Succeeded by	Brendan O'Hara
Member of Parliament for West Dunbartonshire
In office 7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded by	Gemma Doyle
Succeeded by	Douglas McAllister
Personal details
Born	Martin John Docherty (1971-01-21) 21 January 1971 (age 54) Clydebank, Scotland
Political party	Scottish National Party
Alma mater	Glasgow Metropolitan College University of Essex Glasgow School of Art
Website	martindocherty.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 marrying his husband John Hughes 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]

Docherty-Hughes was unseated at the 2024 general election, losing his seat to Douglas McAllister of Scottish Labour.