Alyn Smith

On 27 March 2019, in a brief speech to the European parliament, Smith stated that Brexit will cause the people of Scotland to be removed from the EU against their democratically expressed will, and that Scottish independence from the UK could provide a means for Scotland to rejoin the EU. Many newspaper headlines cited his closing line: "I'm asking you to leave a light on so we can find our way home."

On Sky News in May 2019, Smith claimed that the Brexit Party is "a shell company that’s a money laundering front". After the party's chairman threatened legal action, Smith apologised unreservedly and admitted that he had no evidence for his allegation, made a major contribution to the party chairman's legal costs and made a donation to charity.

On 12 December 2019 Smith was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling, unseating the previous Conservative Party incumbent Stephen Kerr with a majority of 9,254 votes or 17.6%. Following his election, Smith ceased to be an MEP, as an individual cannot simultaneously be a member of a member state's legislature and of the European Parliament.

Smith is openly gay. He has lived in Stirling since September 2019, having previously lived in Edinburgh.

After his re-election in 2014, Smith served as a full member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, remaining a voice in agriculture as alternate member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. He was also a full member of both the Delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula, and the Delegation for relations with Iraq.

Smith was elected for the first time – as Scotland's youngest MEP – in the 2004 European Parliament election. He was re-elected three times at the 2009, 2014 and 2019 European Parliament elections. He sat as a member of the currently seven-strong European Free Alliance Group in the Parliament, which retains its own identity within the joint Green-European Free Alliance Group.

In his first two terms in the European Parliament, Smith served as a full member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development winning the coveted Scottish Farmer Magazine award for "Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Agriculture" at the Highland Show in 2009.

He contested Edinburgh West for the SNP at the 2001 general election, coming fourth. At the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, he contested the same seat, again coming fourth.

After returning to the UK in 1986, he studied law and European law at the University of Leeds and spent a year studying on the Erasmus Programme at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. In 1996 he graduated from Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University, and gained a master's degree in European studies from the College of Europe in Natolin (class of 1994–1995). For a year he taught English in India and worked with Scotland Europa in Brussels.

Alyn Edward Smith (born 15 September 1973) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stirling at the 2019 general election. He also served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Scotland from 2004 to 2019.

Smith was born in Glasgow on 15 September 1973 to Jane and Edward Smith. He grew up between Scotland and Saudi Arabia.