Rachael is the Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire. She has served as the MSP for this constituency since 2017 and was re-elected in 2021 with over 51% of the vote.
Born in Brecon, Wales, Rachael studied agriculture at Harper Adams University before working as an agronomist. In 2008 she became a director of the family-run hospitality business, based in the Borders. Around the same time, she started in politics as a campaign manager for John Lamont MP. During the 2014 referendum, Rachael had a very active role in the Better Together Campaign in the South of Scotland, strongly emphasising the positive case for Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom,
As MSP, Rachael always prioritises the Scottish Borders whilst undertaking various party and parliamentary roles. She has been Chair of the Scottish Borders Conservatives, was one of the main organisers for Women2Win Scotland and is a member of the Shadow Cabinet for the Scottish Conservatives.
More recently, Rachael was appointed Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, and party spokesperson on the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill.
Given Rachael's background in agriculture, she represents people in rural areas and is a strong voice for farmers in the Scottish Parliament. She doesn’t believe the SNP-Green government understands and listens to our rural communities anymore. They seem to ignore the views of people in the Borders and rural areas as somehow less relevant than people living in cities and the central belt.
Rachael was proud to stand up for women’s rights and safety when the SNP brought the GRR Bill forward. That Bill was a shambles and Rachael was pleased, after holding discussion with members of the UK Government, that they stepped in to prevent it becoming law. If it had been allowed to go ahead, it would have risked women’s safety, reduced our right to single-sex spaces, and had a negative impact on equalities legislation.
https://www.rachaelhamilton.co.uk/
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