Kirsty McNeill

Kirsty McNeill is a Scottish Labour politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian since 2024. She has served as Minister of State for International Development since July 2026.

Early life and career McNeill served as president of the Oxford University Student Union in 2001, during which time she successfully campaigned to prevent holocaust denier David Irving from speaking at a debate.

She was previously an advisor to Gordon Brown when he was Prime Minister. Prior to being elected, McNeill was executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children.

Political career In the 2005 general election, McNeill stood for Labour in the North Southwark and Bermondsey constituency, losing to the Liberal Democrat candidate, Simon Hughes.

In the 2024 general election, McNeill was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian with 21,480 votes (48.6%) and a majority of 8,167 over the second place SNP candidate. On 9 July 2024, she was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Scotland Office. On 21 July 2026, she was appointed Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

She is a member of the Fabian Society and is openly LGBT+.