Christina McKelvie Celebration Ball recognises legacy of late MSP

April 7, 2026

Christina McKelvie Celebration Ball recognises legacy of late MSP

The Christina McKelvie Celebration Ball honoured the life and legacy of the late Christina McKelvie MSP, who passed away at the age of 57 in March 2025.

The ball, held on Saturday 4th April at the Hilton in Glasgow, was organised by Christina’s family and friends and raised funds for two charities close to her heart: Maggie’s and Breast Cancer Now.

Christina was one of Scotland’s most passionate advocates for equality, diversity and human rights, as well as the MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and a former Scottish Government Minister.

As a parliamentarian, she was proud of her work as convener of two committees: European and External Relations, and later the Equalities Committee, which added Human Rights to its title and remit under her convenership.

She also championed policy and legislation, including promoting ‘Clare’s Law’, which allows the disclosure of previous violent and abusive behaviour to those at risk. As a Minister, she launched the world’s first strategy to tackle social isolation and loneliness as a public health issue, addressed the stigma surrounding menopause, and introduced legislation banning FGM.

Christina really was a force of nature.

She was committed to social justice and equality, and just so genuinely passionate about making Scotland the best that it could be - and, in doing so, she was the best of us.

Liam Stevenson Director, Time for Inclusive Education

Our team partnered with respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, to attend the ball in honour of Christina, who was a passionate supporter of both organisations.

We joined cross-party politicians and civil society organisations at the event, including education bodies, trade unions, cancer and healthcare charities, and women’s and equality organisations.

The evening was compered by Susie McCabe, award-winning comedian and patron of our charity, and featured moving speeches from Keith Brown MSP, Christina’s partner, and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The Christina McKelvie Equality in Action Award was launched at the event, with a shortlist of campaigners and rights advocates working across equality characteristics.

Lorraine Glass, Director of respectme, was announced as the inaugural winner by actor and comedian Elaine C. Smith for her work advocating for children and young people who experience bullying at school.

If we could all be a bit more Christina, the world would be a better place.

Lorraine Glass Director, respectme

In 2017, our Director, Jordan Daly, joined an expert panel of witnesses to provide evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee inquiry into school bullying, when Christina was Convener. That evidence session led to the national anti-bullying strategy being paused to ensure it more effectively addressed prejudice-based bullying and prevention.

The Committee published its report It is not Cool to be Cruel: Prejudice-based bullying and harassment of children and young people in schools later that year, which set out a range of recommendations. These included moving away from a reactive approach to bullying focused on responding to incidents, towards a proactive approach aimed at prevention.

Christina’s commitment to this work was later realised by Lorraine, who played a pivotal role in delivering a refreshed national approach to anti-bullying in 2024. This framework sets out that schools and education settings must both respond to and prevent prejudice-based bullying.

Thank you, Christina.

Christina was a passionate and dedicated supporter of our work from our early days as a grassroots campaign.

At our tenth anniversary event last summer, we shared a tribute video, which you can watch below to learn more about Christina’s advocacy for the rights of LGBT young people.