Kirsty Blackman is the Scottish National Party (SNP) MP for Aberdeen North, having first been elected to parliament in the 2015 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Blackman received 14,533 votes in Aberdeen North, representing 34.5% of the vote share. The Labour candidate, Lynn Thomson, received 12,773 votes (30.3%), while the Conservative candidate, Gillian Tebberen, secured 5,881 votes (14.0%). Blackman was duly elected with a majority of 1,760 votes.

The Aberdeen North constituency covers the northern part of the City of Aberdeen. It includes areas such as Bridge of Don and Kingswells, alongside inner-city areas like Tillydrone, Northfield, and Mastrick. The seat contains the University of Aberdeen. A historically safe Labour seat, it was won by the SNP in their national landslide of 2015.

Political Career

Blackman currently serves as the SNP chief whip in the House of Commons, as well as the party’s Westminster spokesperson on work and pensions, and equalities. She was appointed to these roles in July 2024, following the recent general election.

Blackman previously served as the SNP’s deputy leader in the Westminster parliament from June 2017 to July 2020. She stepped down from that role citing the impact of the pandemic and events on her mental health.

At the time, Blackman said in a statement: “Like many others, I’ve struggled with the impact that lockdown has had on my mental health. In order to prioritise my constituency and my family, I have made the difficult personal decision to step down from my leadership role. I strongly believe that people must be able to talk openly about mental health issues, which affect so many of us.”

Blackman has held numerous SNP spokesperson roles at Westminster, including for the Cabinet Office (2022-2024), work and pensions (2022), the economy/Treasury (2017-2020) and the House of Lords (2015-2017).

In December 2020, Blackman clashed with Joanna Cherry, then an SNP MP and frontbencher, over the party’s policies on trans rights.

Blackman, the SNP’s Treasury spokesperson at the time, said on Twitter (now X) that trans people and their supporters were leaving the SNP because of Cherry’s behaviour, adding: “Things have moved on since the 80s.”

Cherry accused Blackman of breaching the SNP’s code of conduct with her post. “I’ll ignore the ageism as I wouldn’t expect a privileged young straight woman to know what it was like for lesbians in the 80s”, she commented.

The row was viewed by some as a proxy war between supporters of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon loyalists.

Cherry was later sacked as the SNP’s home affairs spokesperson at Westminster.

In 2016, Blackman called for the Westminster parliament to adopt a more family-friendly approach after she was censured by commons authorities for bringing her children to a committee hearing.

In an article for the Daily Record, Blackman wrote: “The chief issue is the ridiculously archaic voting system. MPs have to physically be present to vote … As the division bells rang to signal [an unexpectedly early vote], both my children were on the toilet. I’m sure ‘hurry up’ is the last thing anyone wants to hear during a bowel movement, but they both took it fairly well.”

She added: “I did make them run afterwards though, and I made it into the division lobby with only moments to spare.

“I also took them through the lobby with me. This is definitely not supposed to happen. But I have yet to work out what the house expects us to do with small children who are not allowed in the lobby. How do I explain to a two-year-old that she has to stay with adults she has never met so I can vote? The system is nonsensical and overdue for reform.”

Blackman went on to explain how, following a meeting of the Scottish affairs committee, she received a caution from clerks for breaching rules after she held her sleeping two-year-old daughter.

In late 2021, Blackman revealed that three people had been prosecuted for abusing her since she became an MP. She said one of the men sent her a threatening letter, another was “verbally abusive” and the third “travelled from the south of England to Aberdeen where he was intercepted by police.”

She added: “Being an MP attracts hatred, anger and threats. This should not be the case. It’s not safe to be an MP, but it is important that people are represented, and that they can speak to their representatives. It’s a tough balance to strike.

“I don’t know how to fix this, other than continued legal action against the perpetrators. I imagine all MPs continually review their security arrangements. I certainly do.

“I don’t talk about this. I’ve said previously that the very last thing I want is for my children to go to school and catch sight of a newspaper reporting on threats to their mum, or to have other parents or teachers mention it.”

Blackman was a member of the House of Commons European statutory instruments committee (2019-2024), the procedure committee (2019-2024), the environment, food and rural affairs committee (2022) and the scottish affairs committee (2015-2016).

Blackman is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for the future of work, political and media literacy, and women’s football. She serves as chair of the political and media literacy APPG.

Blackman delivered her maiden speech on 3 June 2015 during a debate on devolution and growth across Britain.

In it, she stated: “We are not at some post-[Scottish independence] referendum saturation point with politics.

“People in Scotland have a clear vision for the future. They clearly voted for the anti-austerity SNP and our progressive politics, and they have a clear vision for the future of Scotland.”

Political Views

In the 2023 SNP leadership election, Blackman supported the successful candidacy of Humza Yousaf.

In a social media post at the time, Blackman said: “We are fighting for independence every day, not just for the sake of it but because we want a better, fairer, more inclusive Scotland. Humza Yousaf is the leader who will get us there.”

Fair elections APPG: Blackman is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

Brexit referendum: Blackman campaigned to remain in the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU), and therefore agreed with a majority of constituents, 56.9% of whom also voted to remain.

Article 50: In February 2017, Blackman voted against the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Blackman voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Blackman voted for the SNP amendment to the king’s speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. Labour had tabled a rival motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict.

Representing an Aberdeen constituency, Blackman also takes an interest in the North Sea oil and gas industry and the transition for its workforce.

Blackman’s official SNP profile records her priorities as including the “cost of living crisis, migration and the just transition.”

Trident renewal (2016): Blackman voted against a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons. Labour was split over the issue with 140 of its 230 MPs going against leader Jeremy Corbyn and backing the motion.

Syria airstrikes (2015): Blackman voted against a government motion to extend UK airstrikes against Isis from Iraq into Syria in December 2015. The motion, which was passed by 397 votes to 223 after a ten-hour debate in the House of Commons, authorised the RAF to conduct strikes against Isis targets in Syria.

Before Politics

Born Kirsty Ann West on 20 March 1986 in Aberdeen, Scotland, Blackman attended Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen after winning a scholarship. She began studying medicine at the University of Aberdeen but did not complete the course.

Before entering Westminster, Blackman served as an SNP councillor on Aberdeen City Council for the Hilton/Stockethill ward from 2007 to 2015. She was the convener of the SNP group on the council.

Personal Life

Blackman is married to Luke Blackman. They have two children. In 2023, she identified as “not straight”.

In 2024, PinkNews listed Blackman among a number of out LGBTQ+ parliamentarians.

Blackman’s brother, John West, was elected as an SNP councillor in Aberdeen in 2007.

Trivia

Blackman was first elected to parliament aged 29. She was the first woman to hold the SNP’s economy/Treasury spokesperson role at Westminster.

She is currently the only female SNP MP.