Richard Thomson (politician)
Richard Thomson | |
|---|---|
 Thomson in 2019 | |
| Member of Parliament for Gordon | |
| Assumed office 12 December 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Colin Clark |
| Majority | 819 (1.4%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Gordon Thomson[1] 16 June 1976 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
| Education | University of Stirling Edinburgh Business School |
Richard Gordon Thomson (born 16 June 1976)[2] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He is the leader of the SNP group on Aberdeenshire Council and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon since the 2019 general election.[3][4]
Early life
He was educated at Tynecastle High School, Edinburgh, before going to University of Stirling to study History and Politics, and is presently studying part-time for an MBA from the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University.[5]
He worked for Scottish Widows in Edinburgh for six years, firstly as an Assistant Manager in their Customer Relations Department, and latterly as an Account Manager in Corporate Pensions.[5]
He contributed a chapter exploring the 'social democratisation of the SNP' to a book on post-devolution politics called Breaking Up Britain – Four Nations After a Union published in 2009 by Lawrence & Wishart.[6]
In August 2009, he was one of the three speakers in London at the What are the implications of Scottish Independence – for England? event hosted by the SNP, that discussed implications for England in areas such as defence, taxation, the role of the Monarchy, and possible political re-alignments.[citation needed]
He formerly wrote for the Ellon Times and the Inverurie Herald.[citation needed]
Political career
He was former Head of Campaigns for the Scottish National Party and the party's Westminster Head of Research before returning to Aberdeenshire in the Summer of 2008 to work for First Minister Alex Salmond.[7]
In 2001, he unsuccessfully contested the Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency, a safe seat for the Liberal Democrats in which Thomson came fourth with 4,108 votes (12.4%).[5] In 2010, he stood in Gordon. The Liberal Democrat Malcolm Bruce retained his seat, but Thomson took the SNP into second place.
Thomson was leader of Aberdeenshire Council from June 2015 until May 2017, and he currently represents the council on the North Sea Commission, where he is vice-chair of the Marine Resources Group.[8]
He was selected to contest the Gordon constituency for the second time at the 2019 general election. During the campaign he claimed, "A vote for me.. is not is a vote for Scottish independence and I will never, ever, try and claim it as such."[9] He narrowly won the seat from the Conservative incumbent Colin Clark, with a slim majority of 819 votes, a 1.4% majority.[10]
Personal life
Thomson lives in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ "No. 28275". The Edinburgh Gazette. 20 December 2019. p. 2192.
- ^ "Thomson, Richard". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Gordon parliamentary constituency - Election 2019 - BBC News" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ Gossip, Alastair. "General Election 2019: Gordon elects fourth MP in as many elections". Press and Journal. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ a b c "Candidate Richard Thomson". news.bbc.co.uk. 2001.
- ^ "Books" (PDF). Lawrence & Wishart.
- ^ "Richard Thomson — WalesHome.org". 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011.
- ^ "Richard to contest Gordon seat". www.ellontimes.co.uk. 25 October 2019.
- ^ https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18107434.nicola-sturgeon-urges-unity-among-parties-new-independence-referendum/
- ^ "UK Parliamentary Election Results - Gordon" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- An ever closer sovereignty? - The SNP referendum strategy allows Scottish Labour supporters to vote for independence, taking the idea out of the abstract