About | Marie McNair MSP

About Marie McNair

Personal Life

Marie was born in 1975 and raised by her parents in the constituency and educated at local

Primary and Secondary Schools.

Before entering politics, Marie spent 14 years working as part of the nursing team at St Margaret of Scotland Hospice in Clydebank. She cared for patients with advanced life-limiting illness and complex clinical care needs, their families, and friends.

Political Career

Marie was elected to West Dunbartonshire Council in 2003 and served on the Council for 19 years.

Marie was selected as the SNP’s candidate for the Clydebank & Milngavie constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election. In May 2021, she was elected as the constituency’s first female MSP. She is now seeking to be re-elected as the constituency’s Member of the Scottish Parliament on 7th May 2026.

Parliamentary Activities

Since Marie’s election in 2021, she has been a strong voice for her constituents, raising their issues in Parliament, taking part in ministerial question times, and contributing in debates. Over the past five years, she has assisted thousands of constituents with their cases on matters relating to housing, NHS and education, as well as many other issues.

She has also worked with the First Minister and Scottish Government to progress local constituents cases, pushing for legislative changes on issues such as historic forced adoption, methanol poisoning and compensation for asbestos victims.

She is also keen to recognise the success of local people, schools, organisations, and businesses. Over the last five years, she has submitted hundreds of Parliamentary Motions to recognise various achievements within the constituency, with them often gaining cross-party support from across the chamber.

Clydebank has a long history with asbestos as a result of its industrial past. Many big businesses, such as Turners Asbestos Cement Company, Singer Sewing Factory, and John Brown’s Engineering and Shipbuilding, all operated in the town between 1938 and 1970, with asbestos being heavily used for many years.

Consequently, Clydebank has seen many cases of mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos fibres, and it begins to grow in the lining of certain organs. At one point, the town was known as the mesothelioma capital of Europe due to it having the highest death rates.

From Marie’s time at St Margaret’s, she witnessed first-hand how this type of cancer took away so many too soon. Marie had many heart-breaking conversations about the impact of mesothelioma with patients who were at the end stage of the disease, including women who said that they had been exposed to asbestos simply because of their cleanliness, through cleaning their husbands’ overalls.

Given the pain and suffering that Mesothelioma has inflicted on Marie’s constituents, she has led four Members Debates in Parliament to recognise Action Mesothelioma Day and highlight the continued need for research into the management and treatment of this condition. She has also praised the longstanding work of Clydebank Asbestos Group.

As well as campaigning on social justice Marie cares passionately about the environment and is a regular volunteer with Milngavie in Bloom and Bearsden in Bloom who work to improve the local environment. She has also been working continuously with Friends of Milngavie Reservoir, raising concerns about the fencing, road safety and upkeep of the surrounding area with the local council and Scottish Government.

Marie is currently a member of the following Scottish Parliament committees:

Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee (Substitute Member)

Marie was formerly a member of the following Scottish Parliament committees:

Local Government
Housing and Planning Committee