Peter Grant (politician)


Peter Grant is a Scottish National Party politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Glenrothes since winning the seat at the 2015 general election. He held this seat in the 2017 and 2019 general elections.

Early life

Grant was born in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire to a family that were traditionally Labour voters. He moved to Glenrothes in 1982.
Before being elected as an MP, Grant worked in public sector finance. He had trained as a physics teacher before qualifying as an accountant.

Political career

Grant became a Councillor for the Scottish National Party in Glenrothes in 1992. In May 2007 he became Leader of Fife Council. He was also the leader of the SNP group served for five years
In August 2008 the Labour MP for Glenrothes, John MacDougall died, triggering a by-election. Grant was the council leader and was selected as the SNP candidate. Just over a week before the by-election, Grant said that due to 'homesickness' he would spend as minimal time as possible as an MP, and would serve less than a full term as one in the event of a 'yes' vote in a future Scottish Independence Referendum. He was beaten by Labour's Lindsay Roy. Roy stood down in 2015.
In the 2015 UK General Election, Grant was the SNP candidate in Glenrothes and gained the seat with a majority of 13,897 defeating the defending Labour candidate. Following this he stepped down from his council role.
In 2016, Grant estimated that it would take five to ten years for another Scottish independence referendum to take place, depending on levels of support for it in the polls.
Grant held his seat in the UK 2017 general election. He received 17,291 votes, 42.8% of the overall votes cast.
He is Shadow SNP Spokesperson for Europe.
In November 2017 Grant called on the House of Commons Commission to look at implementing electronic voting for the House of Commons.

Personal life

Grant is an amateur musician, being able to play the piano and the fiddle. He is also an amateur bowls player, previously being the chairman of Leslie Bowling Club. He has been married to his wife, Fiona, who is a GP, for thirty years, and an SNP Councillor for Mid Fife and Glenrothes.
He is an ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Now.