Anna McCurley

Who is Anna McCurley?

Anna Anderson McCurley née Gemmell, is a Scottish politician.

McCurley, a teacher by vocation, served as a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council 1978-82. McCurley contested West Stirlingshire in 1979 and Glasgow Central in a 1980 by-election.

She was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for Renfrew West and Inverclyde in the landslide of 1983. She lost the seat to Labour candidate Tommy Graham in 1987. During her time in Parliament, she was described by The Scotsman newspaper as outspoken and formidable, and praised by her successor for her political independence and interest in her constituents. She contested the Chairmanship of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Association, the party's voluntary wing, in 1989 losing to Sir Michael Hirst, the former MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, with whom she publicly opposed the parliamentary candidature of following a long rivalry.

In 1997, she attempted to become the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Eastwood constituency, but failed to make it to the shortlist stage, with Paul Cullen eventually taking the candidature. She explained her defeat by suggesting her "views are more traditional Conservative than modern Conservative".