Alex Johnstone
Alex Johnstone MSP | |
---|---|
Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland | |
Assumed office 6 May 1999 | |
Personal details | |
Born |
Stonehaven | 31 July 1961
Political party | Scottish Conservative Party |
Spouse(s) | Linda Anne Johnstone |
Children | Alexander Johnstone (1983), Christine Watson (1987) |
Alexander Johnstone (born 31 July 1961 in Stonehaven) is a British Scottish Conservative and Unionist politician.
Politics
Johnstone has been Member of the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland electoral region since 1999. He fought the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency in the 2005 General Election, finishing second. He also finished second in Angus North and Mearns in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, but was re-elected as an additional member on the party list. He is the longest serving Conservative MSP of the Scottish Parliament and the only remaining Conservative MSP to serve continuously from the 1999 election.
In Holyrood he has served as Chief Whip and rural affairs spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party and Shadow Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change. Johnstone is the current spokesman for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure.[1] Johnstone is deputy convenor of the Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament.[2]
In 2014, Alex Johnstone, and his colleague Nanette Milne, re-paid more than £12,000 to the Scottish Parliament [3] after breaching office expenses rules.
Personal life
He has been married to Linda since 1981 and they have two children grown up and 6 grandsons. Johnstone was educated at Mackie Academy in Stonehaven before working as a dairy and arable farmer.
Johnstone, a Church of Scotland elder, made the public comments against a proposal to let individual congregations select gay clergy for their church. He told the Press and Journal newspaper a move to allow gay clergy would "ultimately weaken" the church. Johnstone was one of 18 MSPs who voted against same-sex marriage when, in February 2014, the Scottish Parliament backed same-sex marriage.
References
- ↑ "Scottish Conservative appointments for new parliamentary term". Scottish Conservative Party. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ↑ "Alex Johnstone MSP". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
- ↑ MSPs that claimed thousands too much in expenses named
External links
- Akex Johnstone MSP personal site profile
- Alex Johnstone MSP profile at Scottish Parliament site
- Alex Johnstone MSP profile at the site of the Scottish Conservative Party
- Alex Johnstone MSP profile at the site of the Conservative Party