Steven Bonnar

Steven Bonnar is Scottish National Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill since 2019.

Steven Bonnar

MP
Bonnar in 2019
Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byHugh Gaffney
Majority5,624 (11.6%)
Personal details
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materN/A

Raised in North Lanarkshire, Bonnar served as an SNP councillor in the Thorniewood ward of North Lanarkshire from 2015 to 2020. He defeated the incumbent Labour MP Hugh Gaffney at the 2019 general election. He later resigned from his councillor role, stating he wanted to allow for a by-election to be called.

Early life

Bonnar grew up in Viewpark, North Lanarkshire, and was educated at St Gabriel’s Primary Viewpark and Cardinal Newman High School, Bellshill. He was employed as a security guard by British Home Stores, John Lewis & Partners and Debenhams Ireland.

Political career

Following the independence referendum, Bonnar decided to run for councillor in his local ward of Thorniewood. The previous SNP councillor, Duncan McShannon, had become very ill and had to vacate the seat after several months of sickness. On 9 July 2015, Bonnar won the by-election and was duly elected to serve as councillor for Thorniewood ward for North Lanarkshire Council.[1][2] On 4 May 2017, Bonnar was again elected.[3] During his time as a councillor, Bonnar was a witness for former SNP councillor Julie McAnulty in a successful defamation case in 2018, after she had been falsely accused by a party activist of making racist comments in a car trip with Bonnar. McAnulty was awarded £40,000 in damages.[4]

Bonnar stood for election for the Scottish National Party to become MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill at the 2019 general election.[5] He became the third different MP in just over four years to represent the constituency, taking the seat from incumbent Labour MP, Hugh Gaffney. Bonnar received 22,680 votes, with a majority of 5,624, and Gaffney received 17,056 votes.[6] The seat was one of six in Scotland gained from Labour by the SNP during the election.[7] When swearing in to the House of Commons, he crossed his fingers to protest having to affirm allegiance to the monarchy.[8] In February 2020, Bonnar made the decision to step down from his councillor role at North Lanarkshire council to allow a by-election to be called in Thorniewood in May 2020.[9]

In April 2020, a video emerged on a Rangers supporters Facebook group of Bonnar arguing with one of his neighbours. Bonnar had hung a Celtic F.C towel across one of his windows on the day that Celtic were declared SPFL title winners during the COVID-19 pandemic and was confronted by a neighbour. In the video, the neighbour asked Bonnar, "What's that about in your window...the Celtic flag?...is there any need?...you're supposed to be a councillor."[4][10][11] Bonnar responded angrily to the comment, saying: "What about it? I’m not a councillor. I’m a f***ing MP. Aye, it’s needed. What’s it got to do with you? It’s my house." The neighbour then called Bonnar a "mug", to which Bonnar reacted "I'll take you down the park anytime you fucking want".[12][13] Scotland was under lockdown due to the pandemic,[14] with Bonnar stopping a few metres away from his neighbour, which seemed to stop any further escalation. Bonnar later argued he was decorating during the working week and it was to cover the window for a short period of time and he was "drawn into" the confrontation.[4][15] The SNP offered an official apology on Bonnar's behalf:

I regret being drawn into a dispute with a neighbour and reacting hastily to comments made.

In May 2020, Police Scotland made further inquiries into the incident between Bonnar and his neighbour. On 14 May, they were both charged in connection with a street disturbance. A statement from Police Scotland stated it would be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.[16]

Personal life

Bonnar lives in Viewpark, North Lanarkshire with his daughter.

gollark: I can't tell, but it *might* be.
gollark: Wait, is it *temporarily killing the server‽*
gollark: This is troubling. `curl -X POST`ing osmarks internet radio's primary osmarks internet audio™ stream makes it... temporarily say "bad gateway"?
gollark: I don't think it's a particularly standardized English word, pick either.
gollark: Unfortunately, technology doesn't let you selectively erase memories yet.

References
  1. Whitaker, Andrew (10 July 2015). "SNP wins North Lanarkshire by-election". The Scotsman. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  2. "2015 By Election Thorniewood".
  3. "2017 Council Elections".
  4. Blackstock, Gordon (18 April 2020). "SNP's Steven Bonnar in Celtic flag street bust-up". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  5. Tonner, Judith. "Election results: Coatbridge won by SNP's Steven Bonnar while Neil Gray retains Airdrie". Daily Record (Scotland).
  6. "General Election 2019: Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. Tonner, Judith. "Election results: Coatbridge won by SNP's Steven Bonnar while Neil Gray retains Airdrie". Daily Record (Scotland).
  8. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar crosses fingers during swearing in ceremony". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  9. Tonner, Judith (27 February 2020). "May by-election after Coatbridge's new MP stands down from council". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. Jarvis, Jacob (19 April 2020). "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises after row over football flag in his window". Evening Standard.
  11. Cochrane, Angus. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises after row with neighbour over Celtic flag". The National (Scotland).
  12. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises over altercation with neighbour". Scotland Herald. 19 April 2020.
  13. James, Liam. "SNP MP apologises after threatening to fight neighbour 'any f****** time' in row over Celtic flag". The Independent.
  14. "Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: Health Secretary's statement 19 April 2020". Scottish government.
  15. "MP Steven Bonnar apologises over Celtic flag argument with neighbour". BBC. 19 April 2020.
  16. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar charged over alleged street disturbance". BBC. 14 May 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Hugh Gaffney		 Member of Parliament
for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
2019–present		 Incumbent
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