Andrew Bowie (politician)
Andrew Campbell Bowie (born 28 May 1987) is a Scottish politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine since the 2017 general election.[2][3] A Conservative, he has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nuclear and Networks since February 2023.[4]
Early life and education
Bowie was born in Arbroath and educated at Inverurie Academy in Aberdeenshire.[5] While studying at Inverurie Academy, Bowie was chosen to join the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, playing the violin.[6] After leaving school, he joined the Royal Navy and attended Britannia Royal Naval College before serving as an officer, remaining on the rank of Sub-Lieutenant. After leaving the navy, Bowie studied History and Politics at the University of Aberdeen, where he was a member of the Aberdeen University Royal Naval Unit and where he was elected Chairman of the University of Aberdeen Conservative and Unionist Association for the 2012/13 academic year.[7]
Career
Early career
After graduating from the University of Aberdeen, Bowie was employed as a Military Projects Coordinator for Westhill-based diving equipment supplier Divex. Bowie left Divex in January 2014 to assume a post as the North Scotland Campaign Manager for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, and was seconded to the Better Together campaign for the duration of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. Following the referendum, Bowie transitioned to parliamentary politics by serving as a senior advisor to the Conservative MEP for Scotland Ian Duncan MEP. In 2016, following the Scottish Parliament election, 2016, Bowie was hired as office manager to Liam Kerr MSP, who was elected as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Member of the Scottish Parliament for the North East Scotland region.[7]
Parliamentary career
Bowie was elected as an MP in June 2017, with a majority of 7,950 votes.[8] From October that year until June 2018, he was a member of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
In February 2018, Bowie was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport under Matt Hancock, and later under Jeremy Wright.[9]
In December 2018, he was promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister by Theresa May[10] until her resignation in July 2019.
In July 2019, Bowie was appointed as one of six Vice Chairmen of the Conservative Party and is responsible for the Young Conservatives.[11]
Bowie was re-elected as the MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine at the 2019 general election, with a significantly reduced majority of 843 votes.[12]
In November 2021, Bowie announced he would resign as a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party once a replacement was selected, soon after the forced resignation of Owen Paterson from the party, giving the reason "to focus on representing my constituents in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine".[13][14]
He is an advocate of the Down Syndrome Bill, which would recognise people with Down syndrome as a specific minority group.[15]
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowie | 22,752 | 42.7 | -5.2 | |
| SNP | Fergus Mutch | 21,909 | 41.1 | +8.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Waddell | 6,263 | 11.7 | +3.1 | |
| Labour | Patrick Coffield | 2,431 | 4.6 | -6.5 | |
| Majority | 843 | 1.6 | - 13.8 | ||
| Turnout | 53,317 | 73.4 | +2.2 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Bowie | 24,704 | 47.9 | +19.0 | |
| SNP | Stuart Donaldson | 16,754 | 32.5 | -9.1 | |
| Labour | Barry Black | 5,706 | 11.1 | +6.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Waddell | 4,461 | 8.6 | -12.8 | |
| Majority | 7,950 | 15.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 51,625 | 71.2 | -4.0 | ||
| Conservative gain from SNP | Swing | ||||
Personal life
He is married to Madeleine Clarke.
References
- "Bowie joins RNR". The Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- "Andrew Bowie MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- Davidson, Peter (9 June 2017). "Bowie says 'people have spoken' after landslide win in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine". Evening Express. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- "Andrew Bowie MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- "Bowie, Andrew". Who's Who. Vol. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- PoliticsHome.com (1 July 2019). "Unparliamentary Language: Andrew Bowie". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- "Who are Scotland's new MPs?". BBC News. 9 June 2017.
- "UK Parliamentary Election Results - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine" (PDF).
- McKiernan, Jennifer. "First Scottish Conservative promoted to leave the back benches is Andrew Bowie". Press and Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
- Robertson, Kirsten (31 December 2018). "Aberdeenshire MP promoted to prestigious government role". Press and Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- "The Party's new line-up of Deputy and Vice Chairmen". Conservative Home. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- wpengine (13 December 2019). "General Election 2019 - Tories keep hold of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine by just 843 votes". Forres Local. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- Allegretti, Aubrey (10 November 2021). "Tory party vice-chair Andrew Bowie resigns in protest over sleaze". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- Rodger, Hannah (10 November 2021). "Tory MP Andrew Bowie quits as vice chair of the Conservative party". The Herald. Scotland. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- "MP voices support for Down Syndrome Bill". Grampian Online. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "General Election 2019". Aberdeenshire Council. Aberdeenshire Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- "Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- "UK Parliamentary Election" (PDF). www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2021.