Owen Thompson

Owen Thompson
Member of Parliament
for Midlothian
In office
8 May 2015 – 8 June 2017
Preceded by David Hamilton
Succeeded by Danielle Rowley
Personal details
Born (1978-03-17) 17 March 1978
Political party Scottish National Party
Alma mater Edinburgh Napier University
Website Official website

Owen George Thompson (born 17 March 1978) is a Scottish National Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was elected in 2015 as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian until he was unseated at the 2017 general election.

Early life

Thompson was brought up in Loanhead after moving there when he was seven.[1] He studied Accounting and Finance at Edinburgh Napier University.[2]

Political career

Thompson had previously been the leader of Midlothian Council. He was first elected to the council in the Loanhead by-election 2005.[3] At the age of 27, he was Scotland’s youngest councillor at the time.[4] He was then re-elected in the 2007 council election and again in the 2012 council election.[1][5] He became leader of the council in November 2013, succeeding his party colleague Bob Constable.[4]

In December 2014, the Bonnyrigg, Loanhead and District SNP branch nominated Thompson to be the party’s official candidate at the 2015 general election.[6] He was elected as the MP for Midlothian with 24,453 votes, a 50.6% share of the votes cast.[7][8] He was sworn into office at Westminster on 20 May 2015, and on that same day was given a position in the SNP Whips Office under SNP Chief Whip, Mike Weir.[9]

Thompson lost his seat at the 2017 general election to Danielle Rowley of the Labour Party by 885 votes. He received 16,458 votes, 36.4% of the overall votes cast.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Working together". Holyrood. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Swanson, Ian (9 May 2015). "SNP brings seismic shift to Edinburgh politics". Evening News. Johnston Press. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "SNP delight as they take Loanhead seat". Midlothian Advertiser. Johnston Press. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Midlothian elects Owen Thompson as council leader". Evening News. Johnston Press. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Election 2015: Who are the 56 new SNP MPs?". BBC News. BBC. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Councillor sets sights on Westminster". Midlothian Advertiser. Johnston Press. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Midlothian Parliamentary constituency". BBC. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Scottish MPs in Westminster: The full list of the SNP parliamentarians". Ben Tufft. The Independent. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "SNP confirms group roles". Scottish National Party. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  10. ↑ "Midlothian parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
David Hamilton		 Member of Parliament
for Midlothian
2015–2017		 Succeeded by
Danielle Rowley
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