Kirsten Oswald

Kirsten Frances Oswald (born 21 December 1972)[1] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader since 2020. First elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015, she was unseated at the 2017 snap election[2] but subsequently re-elected at the 2019 election.

Kirsten Oswald

MP
Oswald in 2020
Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
Assumed office
8 July 2020
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byKirsty Blackman
Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byPaul Masterton
Majority5,426 (9.8%)
In office
7 May 2015 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byJim Murphy
Succeeded byPaul Masterton
Chairman & Business Convener
of the Scottish National Party
Assumed office
3 November 2018
LeaderNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byDerek Mackay
Personal details
Born
Kirsten Frances Oswald

(1972-12-21) 21 December 1972
Dundee, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)Davinder Bedi
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life and education

Oswald was born in Dundee and grew up in Carnoustie where she attended Carnoustie High School.[3] She attended Glasgow University where she read History. She moved to East Renfrewshire with her husband and two sons in 2008. Her mother was Helen Oswald, Provost of Angus Council.[3] Oswald was head of Human Resources at South Lanarkshire College for twelve years.[4]

Political career

Oswald became active in the Scottish National Party during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, serving on the committee of her local Women for Independence group where she was responsible for local food bank collections.[5]

On 30 January 2015, it was announced that Oswald was selected as the SNP candidate for the East Renfrewshire constituency at the 2015 general election.[6] During her campaign, she was criticised for sending letters to Conservative voters asking for their support to beat Labour. Oswald stated that her letters served to contrast voter values with negative campaign tactics from the Conservatives that focused on keeping the SNP out of power.[7][8]

She won the seat with a majority of 3,718 votes, unseating the-then Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jim Murphy. Murphy had held the seat since Labour's landslide victory eighteen years earlier, and resigned from the Scottish Labour leadership on 13 June 2015.[9][10]

At the 2017 general election, Oswald lost her seat to Paul Masterton of the Conservatives, who won with a majority of 4,712 votes.[11]

In 2018 she was elected Chairman and Business Convener of the SNP, replacing then Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek MacKay.

She was selected by the SNP to contest for the East Renfrewshire seat in the 2019 general election,[12] where she was re-elected with a majority of 5,426 votes or 9.8% - larger than her previous majority in 2015.[13]

On 8 July 2020, she was elected deputy leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, succeeding Kirsty Blackman.[14]

References
  1. Birth certificate of Kirsten Frances Oswald, 21 December 1972, Dundee District 3928/24 2934 – National Records of Scotland
  2. "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  3. "Carnoustie Lady Aims for Westminster". The Guide and Gazette. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. Burns, Janice. "Meet Your New Scottish MPs: #4 Kirsten Oswald, East Renfrewshire". The National. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  5. "General election 2015: the winners and losers". The Guardian. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  6. "Kirsten Oswald to stand for Scottish National Party", Barrhead News, 30 January 2015, retrieved 8 May 2015
  7. "SNP candidate sparks row after asking Tories to help her claim Jim Murphy's scalp". The Herald. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. "SNP candidate asks Tory voters to help beat Labour". The Scotsman. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  9. UK prediction results – Renfrewshire East Parliamentary constituency, bbc.co.uk
  10. "How election was won north & south of the border". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  11. "Refrewshire East Results", BBC News, 9 June 2017, retrieved 10 August 2017
  12. "SNP Fundraising page", SNP Website, 9 November 2019, retrieved 9 November 2019
  13. "Renfrewshire East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  14. "BBC News - Kirsten Oswald is new SNP Westminster deputy leader". BBC News. 8 July 2020.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Jim Murphy		 Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
2015–2017		 Succeeded by
Paul Masterton
Preceded by
Paul Masterton		 Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
2019–present		 Incumbent
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