A University of the West of Scotland (UWS) graduate has won the contest to become Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire North in the recent UK general election.

Alison Taylor, who graduated from the University’s Paisley Campus in 1988 came out top in the constituency standing for Scottish Labour with 19,561 votes, replacing the SNP’s Gavin Newlands, who had been the area’s MP since 2015 who achieved 13,228 votes.

“As an alumna my first stop before departing for London was a very early meeting with UWS Principal Professor James Miller. It felt both comforting and emotional to be back where I started out as a 17-year-old student, then experiencing later the same day a very similar emotion as I walked through the doors of the Palace of Westminster for the first time as the Member of Parliament for Paisley.”

A land economics graduate, Alison was a Senior Consultant at Avison Young, prior to the general election, with 30 years of experience in the real estate industry, spanning transactional, development advisory, investment strategy, asset management, public sector advisory, expert witness, and strategic occupier consultancy services.

As an alumni of ⁦@UniWestScotland⁩ in #Paisley my first stop before departing for London was an very early meeting with Professor James Miller. Felt emotional to be back where I started out as a 17 year old student. Great to have ⁦@NeilBibby⁩ with me. pic.twitter.com/ygSChOat6Q

— Alison S Taylor (@Alison_S_Taylor) July 8, 2024

Alison is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and thinks her background will serve her well at Westminster.

She is also a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and thinks her background and her higher education at the Paisley Campus will serve her well at Westminster given that “the built environment is intrinsic to jobs and the economy, housing and a transition to net zero.”

Alison said when she visited the campus recently that she beleives the outstanding quality of the education she received here set her up for a successful career and hopes now she can give back to the community that has given her so much.

Alison commented on her website: “I will use my 30 years as a chartered surveyor and in leadership roles to bring my life experiences and team building skills to the role so I can help deliver new opportunities for investment in our town centres, public transport and infrastructure.

I am proud to call this area my home, having worked and gone to school in Glasgow and graduated from University in Paisley in Land Economics before becoming a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.”