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Iris Duane

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Iris Duane
MSP
BERJAYA
Official portrait, 2026
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Glasgow
(1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2026
Personal details
Born2002/2003 (age 23–24)
Bradford, England
PartyScottish Greens
University of Glasgow

Iris Duane (born 2002/2003)[1] is a Scottish politician who was elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. She grew up in Bradford, England, the child of a single black mother. Her politics were shaped by her working class background; Duane's mother worked multiple jobs while attending sixth form college.

Life

Duane grew up in Bradford, England, the child of a single black mother.[2][1] The working class background of Duane, whose mother worked multiple jobs while attending sixth form college, shaped her politics.[3]

Duane joined the Scottish Green Party shortly after moving to Glasgow North to read politics and social policy at the University of Glasgow. She became the university's first openly transgender sabbatical officer after pledging to lobby for drug testing kits for students and obstruct investments in the arms trade,[1] and also served as Vice-President of the Queen Margaret Union during the 2023–24 academic year[4] and as Vice-President of Student Support for the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council in 2024.[5] In 2023, Duane was included in Young Women Scotland's "30 Under 30" list.[6][7] She stood for the Green Party in the Glasgow North constituency in the 2024 general election,[6] placing third.[8]

In 2026, while still studying at the University of Glasgow, Duane stood in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election for the Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill seat. The party credited her with tackling her country's poor housing affordability and with advocating for nationalising public transport.[9] She finished second behind Bob Doris[10] but was elected as a member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow region.[11][12] Duane and fellow Green MSP Q Manivannan are the first openly transgender people elected to the Scottish Parliament,[11][12][13] and the Green Party criticised the abuse the pair received following their election.[14] That June, Duane then attended a Glasgow Stand Up to Racism demonstration against the far-right riots that had recently taken place in the area.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Farthing, Jeevan (20 June 2024). "Iris Duane wants to be the first trans woman of colour in Parliament". Dazed. Archived from the original on 29 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Young, Matthew (8 July 2025). "Iris Duane: A politics of hope". oot Scotland. Archived from the original on 29 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  3. ↑ Stevenson, Paris; Bingham, Teddy (25 February 2026). "Vying to make history: Meet the fourth- year candidate for parliament". The Glasgow Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Student Safety: A Top Priority for Glasgow's Student Organisations". University of Glasgow. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "It Stops Here: UofG Students Say No to Gender-Based Violence". University of Glasgow. 19 November 2024. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 McKay, Katherine (30 June 2024). "Meet the UofG student running for Parliament: In Conversation with Iris Duane". The Glasgow Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "Iris Duane". The Young Women's Movement. 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Hansford, Amelia (5 July 2024). "These inspiring trans and non-binary candidates stood for election – here's how they fared". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Nutt, Kathleen (19 January 2026). "Scottish Greens unveil candidate for Glasgow constituency". The Herald. Archived from the original on 27 March 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Whyte, Ava (8 May 2026). "Bob Doris elected as MSP for Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill". Glasgow Times. Archived from the original on 10 May 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  11. 1 2 Jackson, Lucy (8 May 2026). "First two transgender MSPs elected to Scottish Parliament". The National. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 Young, David (8 May 2026). "Two transgender MSPs elected to Holyrood in first for Scottish parliament". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Fanucci, Beatrice (11 May 2026). "Scotland elects two trans members of parliament in historic first". GCN (Gay Community News). Archived from the original on 16 May 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Pollock, Laura (10 May 2026). "Greens address abuse of Scotland's first 2 transgender MSPs". The National. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Shedden, Hannah Emma (13 June 2026). "MSPs Iris Duane and Holly Bruce speak out on far-right violence". The National. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
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