active in the Labour Party, Lamont became a prominent campaigner on issues related to social justice, equality and devolution. Although she had voted no in the 1979 referendum that proposed the establishment of a Scottish Assembly, during the 1980s and 1990s she was a representative on the Scottish Constitutional Convention, the body that paved the way for Scottish devolution. Of her 1979 decision, Lamont has said that she "came from the strand on the left which saw the politics of nationalism as a diversion from more central aims [but later] came to see the parliament as a vehicle for democratic change in Scotland." She was a member of the Scottish Executive Committee of the Labour Party, serving as chair in 1993. MSP for Glasgow Pollok Although a Labour activist for two decades, Lamont had not sought election to the House of Commons during that time, telling a 2014 BBC interview there were few chances for women to be elected to Westminster: "In 1987 Labour sent down 50 MPs and only one of them was a woman." Instead, her decision to seek political office was influenced by the creation of the Scottish Parliament. Speaking to The Herald in 2011, she said, "It is easy to forget what a great opportunity it was for women and I was determined that women would be represented, would have a strong voice." The parliament was established as a result of the 1997 referendum that saw a 74% vote in favour of devolving legislative powers to Scotland. Lamont was first elected as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Pollok in 1999. She held the seat in 2003, when she faced a strong challenge from the Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan, and then again in 2007 and 2011. During her maiden speech on 17 May 1999, Lamont was the first MSP to use Gaelic at a sitting of the Parliament. She served on a number of the Parliament's committees during her first term in office, including the Equal Opportunities Committee, the Local Government Committee and the Social Justice Committee. She became convener of the Social Justice Committee in 2001. In 2000 she became the first Labour MSP to rebel against the Labour-led administration when she threatened to lead backbenchers in voting against a planned Scottish Executive attempt to block the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill, which had been introduced by Sheridan.