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Lara Bird

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Lara Bird
MP
Official portrait, 2026
Member of Parliament
for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 June 2026
Preceded byStephen Gethins
Majority5,278 (21.7%)
Personal details
BornPyla Lara Bird-Leakey
1998 (age 27–28)
PartyScottish National Party
RelativesColin Leakey (grandfather)
EducationUniversity of Sheffield (LLB)
London School of Economics (LLM)

Pyla Lara Bird-Leakey[1] (born 1998[2]) is a Scottish National Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry since 2026.

Early life and career

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Bird grew up in Kirriemuir and was privately educated at the High School of Dundee. Her father, Charles Bird OBE, served in the military, as a diplomat and as a lecturer at the University of St Andrews. Her mother is English, and her maternal grandfather, Colin Leakey, was a plant scientist and member of the Leakey family.[2][3]

She first became involved in politics at the age of 16, around the time of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.[2]

Bird graduated from the University of Sheffield with an LLB[4] and then moved to London, where she completed an LL.M in Public International Law at the London School of Economics.[5] Bird was called to the English Bar at Middle Temple, one of the four Inns of Court, in 2025.[1] She worked for the SNP at Westminster as a foreign affairs and defence researcher, and then as a policy advisor. She moved back to Scotland after the 2024 United Kingdom general election and now lives in Broughty Ferry.[2] She was a PhD student at King's College London until she quit her studies to run for Parliament.[6][3]

Parliamentary career

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On 20 May 2026, Bird was selected as the SNP candidate for the 2026 Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election, called to replace Stephen Gethins.[7] She was elected on 18 June, holding the seat for the SNP with an increased majority of 4,961,[8] and was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 22 June.[9] She visibly crossed her fingers as she swore the oath of allegiance, saying, "I take this oath only so that I can serve the people of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. My first allegiance is, and always will be, [to] the sovereign people of Scotland."[10]

Bird faced criticism when videos prior to her election emerged showing her speaking with an English accent.[11] Since her election, she has spoken with a Scottish accent.

References

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  1. 1 2 Middle Temple. "Call to the Bar ... 9 October 2025" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 O'Neil, Sean (11 June 2026). "EXCLUSIVE: Arbroath and Broughty Ferry SNP byelection candidate Lara Bird opens up on her background". The Courier. Archived from the original on 19 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 Cumming, Ed (24 June 2026). "New SNP MP's accent flips from English to Scottish". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Cesaire, Avery (25 June 2026). "King's College London student becomes an MP after winning parliamentary by-election". The Tab. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Lara Bird-Leakey". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Bird, Lara (23 January 2026). "A state can only exempt itself from international law if others allow it to". The National. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Peacock, Laura (20 May 2026). "SNP announce candidates for two Westminster by-elections". The National. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Morrison, Hamish (18 June 2026). "Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election results in charts and graphs". The National. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "House of Commons - Hansard - Volume 788: debated on Monday 22 June 2026". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Holl-Allen, Genevieve (23 June 2026). "Scottish MP crosses her fingers while swearing allegiance to the King". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  11. ↑ Cumming, Ed (24 June 2026). "The Telegraph". The Telegraph.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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