Patricia Gibson was born and educated in Glasgow. She received a BA (Hons) and MA (Hons) in English and Politics from the University of Glasgow. After graduation, she taught English for over twenty years.[4][5]
Political career
In 2007, Gibson was elected to the Glasgow City Council as a councillor for the Greater Pollok ward,[6] on which she served until 2012. While on the council, she was the SNP's spokesperson for education on the Glasgow city council.[4]
Gibson was re-elected as MP for North Ayrshire & Arran at the snap 2017 general election with a decreased vote share of 38.9% and a decreased majority of 3,633.[12][13]
In June 2017 she was appointed the SNP spokesperson for Consumer Affairs. Between September 2017 and 6 November 2019, Gibson was a member of the Backbench Business Committee.[3]
At the 2019 general election, Gibson was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 48.5% and an increased majority of 8,521.[14][15][16]
During her time as an MP, Gibson was an active campaigner on behalf of Women Against State Pension Inequality. She was later presented with a WASPI Hero Award by the Ayrshire WASPI group. [17]
On 16 April 2022, The Times reported that a complaint of sexual harassment against Gibson had been "provisionally upheld" by Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS).[18] On 23 June 2022, the report on the complaint from Parliament's Independent Expert Panel was published. The report cleared Gibson[19], concluding that the original investigation "was materially flawed in a way that affected the decision of the Commissioner." The report noted that persistent breaches of confidentiality during the investigation caused "significant harm.... including the respondent being subjected to significant online abuse and harassment, including sexual threats, as well as derogatory graffiti at her place of work which
necessitated an increase in personal security." [20]
In July 2023, Gibson was re-selected to stand as the SNP's candidate in North Ayrshire and Arran at the 2024 general election.[21]