Neil Findlay was born in 1969, the son of a bricklayer and a primary schoolteacher. Brought up in the working class village of Fauldhouse in West Lothian, after leaving school at 16 he was an apprentice and tradesman bricklayer for ten years with his father’s small business, became active in his local Labour Party and struck up a great friendship with Tam Dalyell MP. After returning to education, he worked in social housing before becoming a school teacher. A West Lothian Councillor for nine years, he was elected to the Scottish parliament in 2011, serving in various front bench posts and contesting the Scottish Labour leadership election in 2015. Scottish campaign manager for Jeremy Corbyn’s two leadership elections, Neil is current chair of the Scottish Parliament’s health and sport committee. He enjoys fishing, golf, gardening and going for a pint.