Owen Thompson

Owen George Thompson (born 17 March 1978) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was elected in 2015 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Midlothian, but was defeated at the next general election in 2017. He regained the seat at the 2019 general election.

For the Illinois judge, see Owen Pierce Thompson.

Owen Thompson
Thompson in 2020
Member of Parliament
for Midlothian
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byDanielle Rowley
Majority5,705 (11.8%)
In office
7 May 2015 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byDavid Hamilton
Succeeded byDanielle Rowley
Personal details
Born (1978-03-17) 17 March 1978
Political partyScottish National Party
Alma materEdinburgh Napier University
WebsiteOfficial website

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 narrowly lost his seat at the 2017 general election to Danielle Rowley of the Labour Party by 885 votes, receiving 34.4% of the overall vote share compared to 36.4% for Rowley.[10] However, two years later at the 2019 election he regained the constituency, taking a 41.5% vote share and a majority of 5,705 (11.8%).

References
  1. "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. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  3. "SNP delight as they take Loanhead seat". Midlothian Advertiser. Johnston Press. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. "Midlothian elects Owen Thompson as council leader". Evening News. Johnston Press. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. 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
Preceded by
Danielle Rowley		 Member of Parliament for Midlothian
2019–present		 Incumbent
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