Bob Doris

Bob was born and brought up in the Vale of Leven and joined the SNP as a teenager after seeing Scotland’s voice sidelined in the 1980s & 1990s as our country continued to get UK Governments we did not support. He has a MA (Social Science) from Glasgow University and a PGCE in History and Modern Studies from St Andrew’s Teaching College. A teacher for 10 years, Bob stood for the former Maryhill Parliamentary seat in the Scottish Parliament in 2007 and for the newly created Maryhill and Springburn seat in 2011. He served as a regional MSP from 2007 until winning the Maryhill and Springburn seat in 2016 to become the area’s first independence-supporting MSP.

Bob helped co-ordinate the IndyRef Yes campaign in Maryhill and Springburn, establishing a major Yes Hub on Maryhill Road and, along with a vibrant Yes movement across the constituency, secured a 57.2% Yes vote in Maryhill and Springburn.

Bob has served as Deputy Convener of the Health Committee where he helped push forward welcome reforms to access to new medicines and has served as convener of the Local Government and Communities Committee. Most recently he has been Convener of the Social Security Committee, a role which has saw him scrutinise the delivery of Scotland’s new devolved social security powers which, in contrast to the UK, offer a dignified approach to supporting those most in need.

Bob established the Parliament’s first ever cross-party group on Racial Equality and is a former convener of that group. He is convener of two cross-party groups, on Palliative Care and on Rare, Genetic and Undiagnosed Conditions, and has been working collegiately to improve service and practice in these areas. First and foremost, Bob is a diligent constituency MSP and his office has handled over 10,000 constituency cases since his election in 2016.

Bob stays in the Summerston area of Maryhill and is married with one child, and his family are expecting a second child in May.