About Mark

Mark McGeever represents Hamilton West & Earnock on South Lanarkshire Council. Since he was elected in May 2017, Councillor McGeever has worked to provide effective but constructive opposition to the minority SNP administration.

In the 2019 UK General Election Mark was the Liberal Democrats’ candidate to be the Member of Parliament for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, and since July 2019 he has served as the deputy leader of South Lanarkshire Council’s Liberal Democrat Group. He is a strong supporter of cross-party working to serve the best interests of local communities.

Mark introduced – and gained unanimous support for – a new policy enhancing the support available to veterans living in South Lanarkshire. This included the creation of a guaranteed interview scheme for ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen seeking employment with the council.

Mark has also prioritised support for Hamilton town centre and others in the area, measures to make the council more transparent and responsive, the protection of education and social services from cuts, and maintaining local roads.

Now living in South Lanarkshire with his wife and daughter, Mark grew up in Clydebank on the edge of Glasgow. He studied politics and social policy at the University of the West of Scotland in Paisley, identities and conflict at the Open University, and journalism at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.

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Before entering politics he worked as a media officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Hamilton. He was previously a local reporter, a small business owner, and a speechwriter.

A former Conservative parliamentary candidate, Mark joined the Liberal Democrats in July 2019 – the day immediately after Boris Johnson’s appointment as prime minister. Criticising the Tories’ abandonment of liberal values and their decision to embrace right wing politics, he was one of the first elected representatives in the UK to move to the Liberal Democrats during that period.

Mark spoke out against the Conservatives’ selection of a leader who had a long history of using racist, Islamophobic, misogynistic and homophobic language. He believes the Liberal Democrats are the natural home for everyone who believes in liberal and progressive policies, who wants Scotland to thrive within the UK, and who wants the UK to be a leading force for good in Europe and the world.

Mark strongly criticised the Johnson government’s attempts to undermine parliamentary democracy and the rule of law. He also spoke out against that Conservative party’s reluctance to extend marriage equality and women’s rights to Northern Ireland, its adoption of nationalist and populist rhetoric, and its failure to properly handle cases of British citizens suspected of terrorist activity overseas.