 She stood as a constituency candidate in the Perth constituency at the Scottish Parliament in 2007 and again in the newly established Perthshire South and Kinross-shire constituency in both 2011 and 2016, missing out by 1,422 votes in 2016.She is shadow cabinet secretary for education and skills.Before entering parliament, Smith was a schoolteacher and political researcher, as well as an amateur sportswoman, representing the Scottish women's cricket team.