Lara Bird
Lara Bird | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2026 | |
| Member of Parliament for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry | |
| Assumed office 18 June 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Stephen Gethins |
| Majority | 5,278 (21.7%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey 1998 (age 27–28) |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Relatives | Colin Leakey (grandfather) |
| Education | High School of Dundee |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield (LLB) London School of Economics (LLM) |
Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey (born 1998), known as Lara Bird, is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry since 2026. She is a member of the Scottish National Party.
Early life
[change | change source]Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey was born in 1998.[1][2] She grew up in Kirriemuir, Scotland. She studied at the High School of Dundee. Her grandfather, Colin Leakey, was a plant scientist.[2][3]
Bird graduated from the University of Sheffield with an LLB and then moved to London, where she studied Public International Law at the London School of Economics.[4] She became a lawyer in 2025.[1] She was a PhD student at King's College London until she quit her studies to run for Parliament.[5][3]
Political career
[change | change source]Bird first became involved in politics at the age of 16, around the time of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[2]
Parliament
[change | change source]On 20 May 2026, Bird was picked as the SNP candidate for the 2026 Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election to replace Stephen Gethins.[6] She was elected on 18 June, holding the seat for the SNP with an larger majority of 4,961 votes.[7]
Bird was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 22 June.[8] She said she will be loyal to the Scottish people first and crossed her fingers as she swore the oath.[9] Bird said swearing her allegiance to the king was anti-democratic.[9]
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 Middle Temple. "Call to the Bar ... 9 October 2025" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 O'Neil, Sean (11 June 2026). "EXCLUSIVE: Arbroath and Broughty Ferry SNP byelection candidate Lara Bird opens up on her background". The Courier. Archived from the original on 19 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- 1 2 Cumming, Ed (24 June 2026). "New SNP MP's accent flips from English to Scottish". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
- ↑ "Lara Bird-Leakey". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
- ↑ Bird, Lara (2026-01-23). "A state can only exempt itself from international law if others allow it to". The National. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ↑ Peacock, Laura (2026-05-20). "SNP announce candidates for two Westminster by-elections". The National. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ Morrison, Hamish (2026-06-18). "Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election results in charts and graphs". The National. Retrieved 2026-06-19.
- ↑ "House of Commons - Hansard - Volume 788: debated on Monday 22 June 2026". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
- 1 2 Holl-Allen, Genevieve (23 June 2026). "Scottish MP crosses her fingers while swearing allegiance to the King". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
Other websites
[change | change source]
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