Daniel Johnson
MSP
Johnson in 2016
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Edinburgh Southern
Assumed office
5 May 2016
Preceded byJim Eadie
Majority4,022 (8.9%)
Scottish Labour portfolios
2017–2019Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice
2021–2023Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance
2023-presentShadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Business and Fair Work
Personal details
Born (1977-09-03) 3 September 1977
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyScottish Labour
Children2 daughters
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
University of Strathclyde

Daniel Guy Johnson (born 3 September 1977) is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Southern constituency since 2016.

Early life

Johnson was born on 3 September 1977.[1][2] He attended Bonaly Primary School and was privately educated at Stewart's Melville College.[3] He joined the Labour Party at the age of 17.[3] He graduated from the University of St Andrews in philosophy and from the University of Strathclyde in management.[3][4]

Johnson's first job after leaving university was working as a constituency caseworker for Edinburgh South's MP Nigel Griffiths.[3] He later went on to work as a management consultant for Accenture. Before he was elected, he became managing director of his father's group of shops: Paper Tiger and Studio One. The group became the first independent retailer in Edinburgh to become an accredited Living Wage employer in 2015.[5]

Political career

In January 2014, Johnson was selected by party members as a candidate for Edinburgh Southern prior to the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.[3] He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in May 2016, gaining the seat from the Scottish National Party.[6] He became shadow education minister for Scottish Labour in May 2016.[7]

In December 2017, Johnson was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Justice Spokesperson.[8] He resigned on 28 May 2019, the day after it was confirmed Scottish Labour had finished fifth in Scotland in the European Parliament elections and lost both its Scottish MEPs. He criticised the Labour Party's "direction and leadership" and noted Labour had finished sixth in Edinburgh. He challenged the party's Brexit policies, stating in his resignation letter he thought Labour should endorse a second referendum and campaign for remaining in the European Union.[9]

In September 2020, Daniel Johnson called for Richard Leonard to resign as Scottish Labour leader, saying "Continuing like this will be disastrous for our party and is why I no longer have confidence in Richard Leonard’s leadership."[10] After Leonard's resignation, Johnson nominated Anas Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election.[11] In March 2021, he was put back on to the front bench as the Finance Spokesperson for the Scottish Labour Party. Since 10 April 2023, Johnson has served as Economy, Business and Fair Work spokesperson for the Scottish Labour Party.

Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill

In 2018, Johnson lodged a private member's bill which aimed to protect workers selling age restricted products. The Bill aimed to address increasing violence and abuse that shopworkers face, by introducing a new offence to protect workers and deter potential offenders. As retail workers who enforce a statutory age restriction are upholding the law in the wider public interest, it was argued that this group of workers needed further legal protection to help them carry out their duty.[12] The Bill proposed a new statutory offence for assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker, and proposed a statutory aggravation to that offence where the retail worker is enforcing a statutory age restriction.[13]

On the 18 September 2020, the Scottish Government indicated that they would be supporting the progress of the bill throughout parliament, a significant win for Johnson.[14] The Bill was passed in January 2021.[15]

Personal life

Johnson resides in the constituency with his wife, Jackie, and two daughters.[4]

In 2017, Johnson revealed to Scottish Parliament that he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) late in life at the age of 35.[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Daniel Johnson MSP (@DJohnsonMSP) on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Daniel Guy JOHNSON – Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Paul Godzik Holyrood bid killed by businessman". Edinburgh Evening News. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Personal Information". www.parliament.scot. 2 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. ↑ "About Daniel". 17 September 2008.
  6. ↑ "Election 2016: Edinburgh Southern. Scottish Parliament constituency". BBC News. 6 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Scottish Labour shadow cabinet: Kezia Dugdale unveils new frontbench team". Holyrood Magazine. 25 May 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Leonard unveils Labour front bench team". BBC News. 19 December 2017.
  9. ↑ "Two MSPs quit Scottish Labour front bench team". BBC News Scotland. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Andrews, Kieran (30 July 2023). "Labour MSP breaks ranks to demand Richard Leonard's departure" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "Scottish Leadership Election 2021 – Nominations". Scottish Labour. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  12. ↑ McCallum, Frazer. "Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill". Scottish Parliament Reports.
  13. ↑ "Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-Restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill" (PDF). beta.parliament.scot. 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Retail workers set to win protection as SNP to back new bill". www.scotsman.com.
  15. ↑ "Protection of Workers Bill passed". Holyrood Website. 20 January 2021.
  16. ↑ Report, Official (24 January 2014). "Official Report". www.parliament.scot.
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