Elaine Murray

Elaine Kildare Murray (born 22 December 1954) is a retired Scottish Labour politician. She was leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council for the 2017–2022 term. She was also the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dumfries from 1999 to 2011, and then for Dumfriesshire from 2011 to 2016. At the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections, Murray increased her percentage share of the vote. She was Shadow Minister for the Environment in the Scottish Parliament. She lost her seat in 2016.

In May 2017, Murray was elected one of four councillors in Dumfries and Galloway who represent the Nith ward and was elected the Group Leader of Labour in the council. She did not stand for re-election in 2022.

Background Murray was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where her Scottish parents lived at the time. She was brought up in Edinburgh, where she was a pupil at The Mary Erskine School, and graduated with an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Cambridge.

After graduating from Cambridge, Murray first worked in scientific research, and from 1990–93 was an associate lecturer for the Open University. At the same time, she worked for Alex Smith, Member of the European Parliament. In 1994 Murray was elected as a Councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council and in 1995 to South Ayrshire Council, where she was Convenor of Educational Services. She withdrew in early November after failing to gain enough nominations. She claimed she could have got the sufficient number of nominations but said it was clear the Deputy Leadership role would go to a Westminster MP.

At the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, Murray lost her seat to Oliver Mundell, a Conservative.

Dumfries and Galloway councillor At the 2017 Scottish local elections, Murray stood for election in the Dumfries and Galloway ward of Nith and was elected as one of four councillors for the ward. She later became leader of the council, but announced her retirement from politics in April 2022, saying: "I want to do other things while I'm still fit and healthy. I have been an elected representative in local or national politics for 27 out of the last 28 years and I feel that's long enough."