MSP ‘overwhelmed' to become MBE
Speaking to the PA news agency, the Labour Glasgow MSP – the first permanent wheelchair user to be elected to the Scottish Parliament and a tireless disability campaigner – said she had learned about the honour in a text from her husband after she had received an email about it.
'I was overwhelmed, to be honest, and could hardly believe what I was reading,' she said.
'I'm really, really proud to have been given this honour for the work that I've done in the community and for disability rights.
The MSP was elected in 2021 (Andrew Milligan/PA)
'It's a real honour to do this.
'When I got elected as an MSP, I said I was a wee working class woman in a wheelchair. To think that I could be a wee working class woman in a wheelchair who's also got an MBE, I just thought that was pretty special.'
While receiving such an honour from the Palace requires discretion, Ms Duncan-Glancy admitted she struggled keeping it all a secret.
'I told my sister, obviously my husband knows and I told my team and a couple of friends, but it was really difficult to keep it quiet,' she said.
With just 11 months until the next Holyrood election, the MSP said there is 'loads more' the Scottish Parliament and politics more widely has to do for more disabled people to seek election.
'We need to support people to be active in their communities in the first place,' she said.
'For disabled people, it can often be about giving them help to get out of bed in the morning.
'There's quite a mountain to climb for us to support disabled people to get into politics and it's a mountain we absolutely have to climb, because there should be no space about us, without us.
'We need to do everything we possibly can to get more representation of disabled people, not just in Parliament or councils, but everywhere.'
Elected in 2021, Ms Duncan-Glancy has impressed in her first term as an MSP, being given a spot on the Scottish Labour frontbench before even making it to Holyrood, when she was appointed social security spokeswoman by leader Anas Sarwar in the early weeks of his tenure.
Before entering politics, she worked in communications for the NHS and campaigned for the rights of disabled people.
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Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Run by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, it is regarded as a pilot that will lead to other centres - although UK PM Keir Starmer has failed to embrace the 'safer drugs' philosophy. Scotland is the worst nation in Europe for drug deaths by a long way. Deaths in Scotland rose risen by a third in the first three months of this year, 'devastating' figures revealed. There were 308 such deaths over the period January to March, with this total up by 33% on the last three months of 2024. There were 1,053 suspected drugs deaths in the 12 months to March 2025 – meaning there were 166 (14%) fewer such deaths than in the 12 months to March 2024, when the total was 1,219.
