Deidre Brock

Deidre Leanne Brock (born 8 December 1961) is an Australian-born Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh North and Leith from 2015 to 2024. She is the first SNP representative to hold the seat at either a Westminster or Scottish Parliament level. Brock was the SNP House of Commons Business Spokesperson from December 2022 to July 2024.

Early life and career
Deirdre Brock was born on 8 December 1961 in Perth, Western Australia. Her father had emigrated from England to Australia in his teens, making her a dual British and Australian national. She studied English at Curtin University and graduated with a BA, then studied acting at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In 1990, while working as an actress she appeared in an episode of the soap opera Home and Away. She moved to Scotland in 1996 to live with her partner, having met him when she visited the country on holiday a year earlier.

Brock worked for Rob Gibson before she was elected to the City of Edinburgh Council as an SNP councillor for the Leith Walk ward in 2007. She topped the poll with 2,550 first preferences. She was re-elected in the 2012 elections, again topping the poll with 1,735 first preferences, and became the Deputy Lord Provost of Edinburgh as the SNP and Scottish Labour formed an arrangement to run the council.

Parliamentary career
At the 2015 general election, Brock was elected to Parliament as MP for Edinburgh North and Leith with 40.9% of the vote and a majority of 5,597. Brock was one of several SNP MPs who took their parliamentary oaths in both Gaelic and English.

Brock was re-elected as MP for Edinburgh North and Leith at the snap 2017 general election with a decreased vote share of 34% and a decreased majority of 1,625.

From July 2018 to May 2019, Brock was the Shadow SNP Spokesperson for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She was previously the Spokesperson for Devolved Government Relations, Northern Ireland and Fair Work and Employment.

At the 2019 general election, Brock was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 43.7% and an increased majority of 12,808.

At the 2024 general election Brock was defeated losing 16.4% of the vote from 2019 to Labour candidate Tracy Gilbert.