Mercedes Villalba | |
|---|---|
 Affirming in 2021 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forNorth East Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2021 | |
| Shadow Minister for Environment and Biodiversity | |
| Assumed office 1 June 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1989 (age 35–36) Bristol, England |
| Political party | Scottish Labour |
Mercedes Beatrice M. Villalba (born 1989) is aScottish Labour politician who has been aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) forNorth East Scotland sinceMay 2021.
Villalba was born in 1989,[1] and is originally fromBristol, England. She settled inDundee and was a shop steward with theUniversities and Colleges Union (UCU).[2]
On 7 May 2021 she was unsuccessful as Labour's candidate forDundee City West,[3] but the following day was elected as aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) through theNorth East Scotland list.[4] She was appointed as Shadow Minister for Environment and Biodiversity in June 2021.[5]
In 2022, she called for the Labourwhip to be restored toJeremy Corbyn after having it suspended for failing to retract his remarks in response to the EHRC report into anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, as demanded byKeir Starmer andDavid Evans.[6]
She is an outspoken critic of theBritish royal family, and has called for its abolition.[7][8]
On 6 July 2021, Villalba submitted a motion to demand an end to the US embargo on Cuba.[9]
In October 2023, just after theHamas attack on Israel, Villalba expressed her position on thePalestine-Israel conflict through social media. She tweeted that she perceives the "systematic oppression and domination of Palestinians by the Israeli government" as a "crime against humanity", advocating for an end to the occupation of Palestine as a precondition for peace and justice.[10]
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