From Benefits to Holyrood
I’m Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, Scottish Labour’s candidate for North East Fife in the 2026 Holyrood elections. Please, call me Lizzie!
So… what about me… Well, I was born in Newcastle and grew up on benefits and free school meals — the latest generation of a family trapped in poverty, despite working hard. My mam was a barmaid and after that a home help, while my dad worked in a factory. But then alcohol took over his life and at the age of 11, I was almost taken into care.
It wasn’t an easy life. I know what it’s like to go without. To live with shame and silence. To fight to be heard.
Two things changed everything for me.
The first was being born into a welfare state built by Labour — a safety net that helped my family survive and gave me and my siblings the chance to make it out of deprivation.
The second? Coming to Scotland.
I came for a job, but I found so much more. Here, my background didn’t matter, only who I was and what I could do.
I built a career in journalism, met my Leith-born husband and my wonderful in-laws, made lifelong friends and found a home that believed in fairness and community — values I carry with me every day.
We went travelling, living in different countries and cities. But when my mam died, I lost my anchor. She had always been “my home” and suddenly, I felt adrift again, just as I had all those years ago as a child. I needed sanctuary, somewhere to belong – and that’s when Fife North East opened its arms and welcomed us in.
Thank you. Thank you to this wonderful community who have made making a home so easy.
As for politics, some of you might know me from my work on the Pausitivity campaign – a grassroots push to make menopause support visible and accessible for everyone. Our work inspired campaigns around the world and changed UK law. That’s the power of ordinary people speaking up and that’s the power I want to bring to Holyrood.
I’m standing because I want politics to work for the people it too often overlooks; the people who are told they’re asking for too much when all they want is enough.
My campaign won’t be flashy, but it will be real – built on trust, hard work and honest conversations. On fighting for the basics: affordable housing, decent transport, a strong NHS and communities that don’t just survive, but thrive.
Fife North East deserves a voice at Holyrood that never forgets where it came from. That’s who I am and that’s the kind of MSP I will be – Lizzie from down the road.
If that sounds like the kind of politics you believe in, join us. Let’s bring a new direction to Fife North East.