Trish Godman


Patricia Godman was a Scottish Labour Party politician. She was Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Renfrewshire constituency from the 1999 Scottish Parliament election until her retirement in 2011.

Background

The daughter of Martin Leonard and Cathie Craig, Godman was a Glasgow City councillor before entering the Scottish Parliament. She originally worked as a social worker working in the East End of Glasgow from 1979–89.
After leaving St Gerard's Senior Secondary School, Glasgow aged 15, Godman worked with a charity for some time, as a waitress, in a bar, insurance collector and a house mother in a list 'D' school. She later attended Jordanhill College where she trained as a social worker.
From 2003 until 2011, Godman was a Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. In 2008, it was revealed she charged the taxpayer around £30,000 for hotel bills although she was renting a flat from her son Gary Mulgrew. She did not qualify for the rental expenses allowance as her main residence in Glasgow was too close to Holyrood to qualify, but claimed rent rather than hotel expenses. She was entitled to an overnight expenses allowance that permitted MSPs to recoup expenses for each night, which she had paid for the rent of the apartment. It was confirmed that she had neither broken the Parliamentary rules, nor benefited in any way.

Personal life

Godman's husband was Norman Godman, who was a Member of Parliament for Greenock and Inverclyde and its predecessor seat from 1983 to 2001. She had three sons. One, Gary Mulgrew, was one of the NatWest Three. Her experience with his extradition inspired her to take an active role in opposing Gary McKinnon's extradition to the United States in a similar case.
Godman died on 21 July 2019 in Clydebank, after a long illness.