Susan Murray is the Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dunbartonshire, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 election, Murray won 22,349 votes, representing 42.4% of the vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Amy Callaghan, received 12,676 votes (24.0%), while the Labour candidate, Lorna Dougall, secured 10,993 votes (20.8%). Murray was duly elected with a majority of 9,673.

The Mid Dunbartonshire constituency was newly created ahead of the 2024 election, largely based on the former East Dunbartonshire seat.

Political Career

Murray currently serves on the Liberal Democrat frontbench as Scotland spokesperson. She was appointed to this role in September 2025.

Murray is a member of the House of Commons Scottish affairs select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the expenditure, administration and policies of the Scotland Office and its associated bodies. The committee also examines the wider UK government, assessing policies and legislation that are relevant to Scotland.

Murray delivered her maiden speech on 7 October 2024 during a debate on NHS performance.

In it, she said: “In the 19th century, it took three reform Acts of this House to slowly extend voting rights for men. In the 20th century, the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave voting rights to some women and to men aged over 21.

“But it was not until 1928 that all adults had the right to vote. Today, in the 21st century, the call for better democracy continues…

“The result shows a clear failure to engage a huge number of voters. I call on the government to consider carefully the mandate that the result gave them, to treat every potential voter with dignity and respect, and to make the change to give every vote an equal weight, no matter where it is cast.

“This is an opportunity to end self-serving and self-obsessed politics, and to truly introduce the politics of service.”

Before entering parliament, Murray was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on East Dunbartonshire Council in May 2017. She stepped down as a councillor in 2024.

Murray previously stood unsuccessfully as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East in the 2019 general election, and for the Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Political Views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

The Liberal Democrat autumn conference in 2021 ratified a policy paper entitled What Liberal Democrats Believe. The paper, an attempt to expand on the constitution’s preamble, was framed around seven “principles and values”.

The party’s core values were described as “liberty, equality, democracy, community, internationalism and environmentalism.”

Murray is listed as a supporter 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.

In December 2024, Murray voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Murray supported the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-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.

Assisted dying

Murray voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Murray voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Susan Catherine Murray was born in May 1957 in Aberdeen. She grew up in Bucksburn near Aberdeen and attended St Margaret’s School for Girls.

Murray worked in the hotel industry before returning to education, training as a dietician at Robert Gordon University. She went on to work in the NHS and later obtained a master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh.

She subsequently worked at Johnson & Johnson, including as European Marketing Director.

In 2006, Murray’s husband suffered a brain haemorrhage.

In her 2024 maiden speech, Murray told the House: “In 2006 my husband had a brain haemorrhage, which changed our lives in an instant. I became his full-time carer and could not continue in my profession, and he was never able to return to his career.

“From being comfortably off, life changed to watching every penny. Without the support of our family, we could have lost our home, and we were very fortunate.”

Personal Life

Murray lives in her Mid Dunbartonshire constituency.

She is married.

Trivia

Murray stood in the 2019 general election and the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.