Michelle Ballantyne | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Leader of Reform UK Scotland | |
| In office 11 January 2021 – 16 February 2022 | |
| UK party leader | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Martyn Greene |
| Convener of the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee | |
| In office 3 March 2020 – 20 August 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Lindhurst |
| Succeeded by | Gordon Lindhurst |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for South Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| In office 23 May 2017 – 8 May 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Rachael Hamilton[a] |
| Succeeded by | Craig Hoy |
| Scottish Conservative portfolios | |
| 2018–2020 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Security |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michelle Lorraine Cross 28 November 1962 Ashton-under-Lyne, England |
| Political party | Reform UK (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (2020–2021) Conservative (until 2020) |
| Alma mater | Royal London Hospital Heriot-Watt University |
Michelle Lorraine Ballantyne (née Cross; born 28 November 1962) is a British property developer, former politician and nurse who served as Leader of Reform UK Scotland from January 2021 to February 2022.[1][2] She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2017 to 2021, having been elected for the Scottish Conservatives.
Born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Ballantyne studied at Royal London Hospital before working as a staff nurse and health service manager in London. She moved to the Scottish Borders in 1990 and established a manufacturing business there with her husband. After graduating with an honours degree from Heriot-Watt University, she managed an acute medicine department in Edinburgh and took a position at a charity supporting people struggling with drugs and alcohol.
Elected to Scottish Borders Council in 2012, Ballantyne took a seat in the Scottish Parliament in 2017 on the Scottish Conservative regional list. She was a candidate in the February 2020 leadership election but lost to Jackson Carlaw. She resigned from the party in November 2020 in protest at its support for coronavirus lockdown measures. After sitting as an independent, she joined Reform UK in January 2021 and was appointed as Leader of Reform UK Scotland. She lost her seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election and quit as the leader of Reform UK in Scotland in February 2022.
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- ^ Garton-Crosbie, Abbi (16 February 2022). "Reform Party: Michelle Ballantyne quits as Scottish leader". The National. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ Rodger, Hannah (16 February 2022). "Leader of Scotland's Reform UK party Michelle Ballantyne quits after a year". The Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2022.