Finlay Carson MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in May 2016. He is a member of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and currently serves as the Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group (CPG) on Brain Tumours. In this role, Finlay works to raise awareness of the challenges faced by those affected by brain tumours and to promote improvements in research, diagnosis, and treatment across Scotland.

Finlay has been an active campaigner alongside the charity Brain Tumour Research (who provide the secretariat for the CPG), supporting their efforts to secure greater funding for brain tumour research and to improve access to innovative treatments. His commitment to health equality and to ensuring that patients in Scotland have access to the same genomic and precision medicine approaches as elsewhere in the UK underpins his contribution to this panel.

Before entering politics, Finlay studied Agriculture at the University of Edinburgh and worked in rural business management. He remains passionate about community development and healthcare access in rural Scotland, and is convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.