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{{Short description|Scottish SNP politician and lawyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=
{{Use British English|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Joanna Cherry
| honorific-suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KC}}
| image = Official portrait of Joanna Cherry QC MP crop 2.jpg
| alt = Joanna Cherry in 2019
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| office3 = Chair of the [[Joint Committee on Human Rights]]
| term_start3 = 10 January 2024
| term_end3 = 30 May 2024
| predecessor3 = [[Harriet Harman]]
| successor3 =
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| term_end4 = 26 June 2023
| predecessor4 = Harriet Harman
| successor4 =
| birth_name = Joanna Catherine Cherry
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|3|18|df=yes}}
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| death_place =
| party = [[Scottish National Party]] (2008-present)
| otherparty = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] (1980s)
| alma_mater = [[University of Edinburgh]]
| caption = Official portrait, 2019
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Cherry was admitted as an [[Advocate#Scotland|advocate]] in 1995, with a particular interest in employment and industrial relations, health and safety, mental health, personal injury and professional negligence.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
She served as a Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Government from 2003 to 2008, and as an Advocate Depute and Senior Advocate Depute from 2008 until 2011. She was appointed a [[Queen's Counsel]] in 2009<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/54-9/1006973.aspx |title=Twelve new Queen's Counsel appointed |journal=The Journal |publisher=[[Law Society of Scotland]] |date=14 September 2009 |access-date=11 May 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207174221/http://www.journalonline.co.uk/Magazine/54-9/1006973.aspx | archive-date=7 February 2016
Cherry set up the "Lawyers for Yes" group, which campaigned for a "Yes" (pro-independence) vote in the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum]].<ref>{{cite news |date=23 June 2014 |title="Lawyers for Yes" sign independence declaration |url=http://www.journalonline.co.uk/News/1014157.aspx |access-date=11 May 2015 |work=The Journal |publisher=Law Society of Scotland}}</ref>
== Political career ==
===
At the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]], Cherry was elected to Parliament as MP for [[Edinburgh South West (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh South West]]
In September 2016, she issued an apology after defending a comedy rap group Witsherface performance at a pro-independence event that had been criticised as homophobic.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37407617|title=Row over Ruth Davidson comedy rap song slur|work=BBC News|date=19 September 2016}}</ref> The performance had called Conservative leader [[Ruth Davidson]] "Dykey' D" and had portrayed her making her inappropriate comments towards SNP MP [[Mhairi Black]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14752147.snp-mp-regrets-offence-caused-homophobic-slur-independence-event/|title = SNP MP 'regrets' offence caused by homophobic slur at independence event| date=19 September 2016 }}</ref>
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In May 2017, Cherry apologised for telling journalists that a nurse, who had told a TV debate audience she had been unable to survive on her salary and had to use food banks, was suspected to be the wife of a Conservative councillor. These false claims were retweeted by other SNP politicians, with the nurse experiencing online and offline harassment.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39997155 |title=Election 2017: Apology for TV debate food bank nurse |date=22 May 2017 |work=BBC News |access-date=29 November 2020}}</ref>
===
Cherry was re-elected as MP for Edinburgh South West at the snap [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 general election]] with a decreased vote share of 35.6% and a decreased majority of 1,097.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who you can vote for: UK Parliamentary General Election 8 June 2017 candidates |url=http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20033/elections_and_voting/1585/who_you_can_vote_for |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514142428/http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20033/elections_and_voting/1585/who_you_can_vote_for |archive-date=14 May 2017 |access-date=11 May 2017 |publisher=[[City of Edinburgh Council]]
In October 2017, she was an observer at the [[2017 Catalan independence referendum]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/joanna-cherry-palpable-sense-fear-barcelona-streets-1438511|title = Joanna Cherry: '˜Palpable sense of fear' on Barcelona streets| date=2 October 2017 }}</ref>
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Following a High Court ruling in May 2019, in favour of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority released figures confirming that 377 MPs had had their parliamentary credit cards suspended for "late, incomplete or incorrect expenses claims since 2015".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/david-mundell-among-377-mps-to-have-expenses-credit-cards-blocked-1-4922977|title=David Mundell among 377 MPs to have expenses credit cards blocked|last=Gourtsoyannis|first=Paris|date=8 May 2019|work=The Scotsman|access-date=12 February 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref> Cherry was included on that list, with the paper reporting that she had had her official credit card repeatedly suspended for failing to repay money on time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/05/08/four-scottish-mps-repeatedly-have-official-credit-cards-suspended/|title=Four Scottish MPs repeatedly have official credit cards suspended for failing to pay back money|last=Johnson|first=Simon|date=8 May 2019|work=The Telegraph|access-date=11 May 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>
On 11 May 2019 ''[[The Times
Cherry was the leading litigant in the Scottish court case challenging the [[2019 British prorogation controversy|five-week prorogation of Parliament]] by Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]]. Her case ''[[R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland|Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland]]'', together with a case brought in England and Wales by [[Gina Miller]], was ultimately successful in the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom|Supreme Court]], resulting in the quashing of the prorogation on 24 September 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49810261|title=Supreme Court: Suspending Parliament was unlawful, judges rule|date=24 September 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=2 December 2019}}</ref>
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[[File:Joanna Cherry in Parliament.jpg|thumb|alt=Joanna Cherry standing to debate in a debating chamber.|Cherry debating the renegotiated [[Brexit withdrawal agreement]] in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in October 2019.]]
===
At the [[2019 United Kingdom general election|2019 general election]], Cherry was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 47.6% and an increased majority of 11,982.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/politics/snps-joanna-cherry-wins-big-majority-edinburgh-south-west-1340264 |title=SNP's Joanna Cherry wins big majority in Edinburgh South West |last=Swanson |first=Ian |date=13 December 2019 |work=Edinburgh Evening News |access-date=13 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=UK Parliamentary General Election - 12 December 2019 |url=http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/13127/notice_of_poll_-_edinburgh_south_west_141119 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115011238/http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/13127/notice_of_poll_-_edinburgh_south_west_141119 |archive-date=15 November 2019 |access-date=15 November 2019 |website=The City of Edinburgh Council }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Edinburgh South West parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/S14000025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413132313/https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/S14000025 |archive-date=13 April 2019 |access-date=
In February 2020, Cherry announced that she was seeking nomination from the SNP Edinburgh Central constituency branch to run as the candidate for [[Edinburgh Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh Central]] in the Scottish Parliament and would stand down as an [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] in the House of Commons if elected.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51601035 |title=Joanna Cherry will leave MP role if she wins Ruth Davidson's seat |date=23 February 2020 |work=BBC |access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref> [[Angus Robertson]] also announced his intention to seek nomination for the Edinburgh Central constituency. In July 2020, Cherry announced she was ruling out a bid for Holyrood, stating that the conditions for standing as an MSP were unreasonable and made a fair contest involving her "impossible".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-53607198 |title=SNP's Joanna Cherry rules out Holyrood bid after rule change |date=31 July 2020 |work=BBC |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref>
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In July 2023 Cherry appeared in court to address what she described as "frightening threats",<ref>{{Cite tweet |author= Joanna Cherry |user=joannaccherry |number=1678315969758806016 |date= 10 July 2023 |title=Today I'm not able to be at Westminster to represent my constituents. Instead I am in court again to give evidence in a criminal trial about frightening threats made against me. This is the real toxicity in our politics & it will take leadership to stop it.}}</ref> as her chief of staff, Fraser Thomson, said: "I took it to be a very serious attempt on Joanna Cherry's life". A 23-year-old woman was cleared of threatening her, as the judge found reasonable doubt that the tweet "STG I am gonna pop Joanna Cherry", in reply to a newspaper article on her, was grossly offensive, or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/edinburgh-woman-cleared-of-posting-threatening-tweet-about-edinburgh-mp-joanna-cherry-4213997|title=Edinburgh woman cleared of posting 'threatening' tweet about Edinburgh MP Joanna Cherry|date=10 July 2023|work=[[Edinburgh Evening News]]}}</ref>
=== After Parliament ===
In the 2024 General Election, Cherry lost her seat to the Scottish Labour Party, in a swing that the Centre on Constitutional Change described as "disproportionately large".<ref>https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/news-and-opinion/how-scotland-voted-2024-uk-general-election</ref> After she lost her seat, Cherry criticised her former party leader [[Nicola Sturgeon]] and said under her leadership the SNP's "reputation of governing competently and for integrity has taken a severe battering in the last couple of years.” Sturgeon responded that it would be the “easy solution” for people to “take refuge in somehow it’s all my fault”.<ref>https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-owes-snp-apology-33186758</ref>
== Political positions ==
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=== Political parties ===
In 2015 Cherry said that as a teenager, she wanted to be a Labour MP.<ref name="We56" /> She was very involved with Labour Students while at university, a contemporary of [[Douglas Alexander]]. She remained in the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] after graduation, before becoming disillusioned in their lack of action on home rule and insufficient opposition to the [[Poll tax]]. She started voting for the SNP "in the mid 90s before joining the party in 2008".<ref name="We56" />
After her lack of inclusion in Ian Blackford's front bench in 2021, she spoke of approaches from that party for her to defect, saying "“I've had approaches from people in the Labour Party and people in the [[Alba Party|Alba party]]". She added: “If I lived in England, I would definitely be a member of the Labour Party. I have a great affection for the Labour Party".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/snp-mp-joanna-cherry-open-27800653|title = SNP MP Joanna Cherry open to standing for party leadership and admits approaches from Labour| date=22 August 2022| newspaper=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]}}</ref>
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Cherry lists her personal interests as travel, reading and swimming.<ref name=":0" /> She is a [[lesbian]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/05/uk-broke-its-own-record-lgbt-representation-last-week | title=The UK broke its own record for LGBT representation last week | work=New Statesman | date=13 May 2015 | access-date=25 July 2015 | author=Andrew Reynolds}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
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{{s-ttl
|title=[[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]]<br />for [[Edinburgh South West (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh South West]]
|years=[[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]]
}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Scott Arthur]]}}
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[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century Scottish women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Scottish
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies]]
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