Richard Lyle

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Richard Macdonald Lyle (born 12 June 1950) is a former Scottish National Party politician. He served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016 and then for Uddingston and Bellshill from 2016 to 2021. Before joining the Scottish Parliament, Lyle spent about 35 years as a local councillor in North Lanarkshire and on the Motherwell district council. He worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland before entering politics and joined the SNP in 1966. In 2011 he was part of a controversial debate on same-sex marriage. In 2016 there was internal conflict in his local SNP branch, and he earned a nickname after an expenses claim became public. He announced in February 2020 that he would not seek re-election in 2021. After leaving politics, he worked as a lobbyist for Invicta Public Affairs. In 2024 he faced accusations of breaking parliamentary rules by using an ex-member pass to lobby for Invicta. He is married to Marion; they have two children, Vincent and Marina, with Marina later serving as a councillor.