Introduction
Lesley Brennan is a Scottish Labour Party politician and councillor in Dundee. She was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland electoral region for 70 days in early 2016. She previously worked as an economist.
Early life
She was educated at Lawside Academy in Dundee. She graduated from Abertay University in 1999 with a first-class honours degree in economics, then studied at the University of Edinburgh where she gained a master's degree in economics in 2001.
Political career
Brennan was elected to the East End ward of Dundee City Council in 2012.
In October 2013 she was selected by Labour to stand in Dundee East at the United Kingdom general election, 2015. Brennan contested for the seat, although she lost to the incumbent Stewart Hosie.
When Richard Baker resigned from the Scottish Parliament in January 2016, Labour nominated Brennan as his replacement as she had been next on their regional list. Brennan was sworn in on 13 January 2016, and served until the Parliament's dissolution two months later March. She stood in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections where Labour had placed her third on their regional list for the North East, but she was not re-elected.