Douglas Lumsden: Who is the Tory with 'concerns' over Janey Godley's pantomime role?

The MSP for the North East region and former Aberdeen Council co-leader took to social media to say he’d contacted Aberdeen Performing Arts with concerns over language used regarding disabled people and Chernobyl victims in the posts.

READ MORE: Tory MSP writes to theatre with 'concerns' over Janey Godley's panto role

But who is Lumsden? The 48-year-old was first elected as a Scottish Conservative councillor in 2017. Lumsden has been an MSP for the North East Scotland region since the Holyrood election in May. In an article for the Press and Journal ahead of the vote, Lumsden said his best quality is empathy, adding: “As a local councillor used to meeting constituents and doing everything I can to help them.”

Lumsden lives in Aberdeen with his wife and children and spent more than 20 years working in the IT industry. He was previously the co-leader of Aberdeen City Council, and will continue as a councillor for Airyhall, Broomhill and Garthdee to avoid the expense of a by-election. He has already stepped down as co-leader of the council and Conservative group leader, as well as relinquishing various roles on committees. He contested the Aberdeen South seat in the 2019 General Election but came second.

Lumsden will step down as co-leader of Aberdeen City Council following his election to Holyrood. Ryan Houghton was chosen as his successor as the Conservative group leader at a meeting a few days later, despite being suspended from the party in 2019 after years-old internet forum posts – touching on anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and homophobia – were investigated. His exile came as he stood for the Westminster Aberdeen North seat, meaning the party withdrew all support for his campaign.

After Houghton's election, Lumsden said: “For someone Aberdeen born and bred, it’s been a real privilege to spend four years as co-leader.

“I have been immensely proud every time I walk through the doors of the Town House and you see all the history – it fills you with pride to be part of that.

“It’s great Ryan will be able to progress on what we have achieved over the last four years.”

Lumsden has pledged to donate his basic councillor salary – totalling around £17,500 – to a different local charity each month.

READ MORE: Janey Godley apologises for 'horridly offensive' historic tweets

“I will continue to be a councillor for another year while also being an MSP and that’s the right thing to do rather than costing the taxpayer money for a by-election that doesn’t even fulfil a full year,” he told the Press and Journal.

“It was an easy decision to donate my councillor’s salary to charity and I didn’t think twice about it.

“Holding a by-election would cost double the amount of my salary as a councillor and it would be wrong of me to allow that to happen during a time where households are trying to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

“In Aberdeen and across the north-east, we have so many fantastic charities whose work goes unnoticed.”

In December last year, Lumsden came under fire for having "a total lack of respect for the Scottish Parliament" in his bid to byass Scottish ministers to strike a funding deal with Westminster.

He said his plan for local authorities to receive money directly from the UK Government would not be an attack on devolution. But a Scottish Government spokeswoman said "there is no question of any Scottish local authority being funded directly by the UK Government" because local government is fully devolved.

Lumsden’s bid involved asking fellow elected members to back his bid to approach Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and council funding body Cosla about how Aberdeen is funded.

READ MORE: Backlash as Tory council co-leader wants to bypass SNP to get cash from Westminster

Lumsden wanted council chief executive Angela Scott to discuss the issue with Jack and Cosla by bypassing the SNP. This enraged SNP group leader Alex Nicoll who tweeted: “This really is an absolutely incredible stance from the finance convener of Aberdeen City Council.

“It shows a total lack of respect for the Scottish Parliament, the place where Councillor Lumsden wants to find himself next May.”

LibDem group leader Ian Yuill agreed, saying the move is "an attack on the devolution settlement".

But Lumsden disagreed, claiming: “Something has to be done as we have been lobbying the Scottish Government and Cosla for a fairer funding settlement and nobody has taken it seriously. If the Scottish Government and Cosla were more amenable to a fairer funding settlement, then there would be no need to do this.”

Lumsden was caught in another controversy in June last year after he blamed his wife after he was caught on film parking in a blue badge spot while sandwich shopping. He left his Range Rover in a disabled parking bay in Aberdeen’s Union Row as he nipped into the So... Aberdeen coffee shop.

READ MORE: Sandwich-buying Tory councillor blames wife after he's caught parking in disabled bay

When confronted by the Scottish Sun, the Aberdeen council co-leader refused to accept responsibility, claiming he didn’t know it was a disabled parking spot, despite the car being parked right beside a massive sign saying the space was for “disabled badge holders only”.

Lumsden said the car was being driven by his wife. He added: “I’d no say over where she stopped. I didn’t even know it was a disabled space.

"The car does not belong to me.”

Alex Nicoll, the leader of the SNP Group on the council said: “You simply cannot park where you want and you certainly shouldn’t abuse disabled parking bays while nipping out for a bite to eat. 

"I regularly take my disabled brother shopping so I’m acutely aware of the difficulties that blue badge holders face in parking safely – this is made even more difficult when people without a blue badge park in disabled bays. 

“Folk in Aberdeen expect better of their council leaders and I hope he will make a suitable donation to a disability charity."

City Wardens in Aberdeen can issue fines of £60 to those caught parking in disabled bays.