Drew Smith
Drew Smith is a Scottish Labour politician, and was Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region from 2011 to 2016, as well as Scottish Labour's frontbench spokesperson on social justice.Political career
He was first elected in 2011 and is a former Chair of Scottish Young Labour and former member of the Scottish TUC General Council.
Drew Smith, is also a former member of Glasgow University Labour Club, he was ranked second on Scottish Labour's list of candidates for the Scottish Parliament in the Glasgow Region, this was the highest position open to a non-female or non-ethnic minority candidate.
During the 2007 and 2011 elections he was closely involved in Labour campaigns to re-elect Pauline McNeill in Glasgow Kelvin. He briefly worked for Labour's Ann McKechin MP whilst she was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, and previously in the voluntary sector. He supported the Scottish Labour leadership campaigns of Wendy Alexander and Andy Kerr in 2007 and 2008 respectively. He supported Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour Party leadership election.
He is a former Vice Chairperson and Secretary of Glasgow North Labour Party. Drew Smith was Chair of the Young Worker's Committee of the Scottish TUC in 2008-2009, and was awarded the Jimmy Waugh Memorial Prize for Services to Young Workers in 2011. On three occasions since being elected Drew Smith has refused to cross picket lines to attend debates at Holyrood when parliamentary staff have been on strike, most recently on 20 March 2013 when he spoke at a rally of Public and Commercial Services Union members in Glasgow's St Enoch Square instead.
In 2013, Smith declared his support for a "soft opt-out" system of organ donation in Scotland, akin to that endorsed by Welsh Labour. He said such a scheme "will save lives" while ensuring that "the wishes of individuals are paramount".
