Trish Godman
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Trish Godman | |
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Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament | |
In office 7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011 Serving with Murray Tosh (2003–2007) and Alasdair Morgan (2007–2011) | |
Presiding Officer | George Reid Alex Fergusson |
Preceded by | George Reid |
Succeeded by | Elaine Smith |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for West Renfrewshire | |
In office 6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
Personal details | |
Born | Patricia Leonard 31 October 1939 Glasgow, Scotland |
Died | 21 July 2019 Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland | (aged 79)
Political party | Scottish Labour Party |
Spouse | Norman Godman |
Children | 3 |
Patricia Godman (née Leonard; 31 October 1939 – 21 July 2019) was a Scottish Labour Party politician. She was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) 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.[citation needed]
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
Godman died on 21 July 2019 in Clydebank, after a long illness.[6]
References
- ^ "Obituary: Trish Godman, former Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Dailyrecord.co.uk (17 March 2008). "MSP Trish Godman Claimed £30,000 To Rent Son's Flat". dailyrecord. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
- ^ "The deputy presiding officer who charged the taxpayer £30,000 for hotel bills". heraldscotland. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
- ^ "Profile: The 'NatWest Three'". BBC News. BBC. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- ^ "MSP Trish Godman: Computer hacker Gary McKinnon 'will not survive extradition'". Daily Star. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ponsonby, Bernard (24 July 2019). "Obituary: Trish Godman, former Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- Use dmy dates from October 2012
- 1939 births
- 2019 deaths
- People from Govan
- Scottish social workers
- Scottish Labour Party councillors
- Councillors in Glasgow
- Female members of the Scottish Parliament
- Labour MSPs
- Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003
- Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007
- Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011
- 20th-century British women politicians
- 21st-century British women politicians