Ronnie Cowan (politician)

Ronald Jack Cowan (born 6 September 1959) is a Scottish politician and member of the Scottish National Party. He has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverclyde since the 2015 general election,[2] having been re-elected in 2017 and 2019.[3]

Ronnie Cowan
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Member of Parliament
for Inverclyde
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byIain McKenzie
Majority7,512 (18.8%)
Personal details
Born
Ronald Jack Cowan[1]

(1959-09-06) 6 September 1959
Inverclyde, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party

Early and personal life

Cowan was born in Greenock to former Greenock Morton and Scotland footballer Jimmy Cowan[4] and his wife, May.[5] He was educated at Greenock Academy and, despite growing up in a Labour Party-supporting household, joined the Scottish National Party at the age of 16.[5]

Before standing for parliament, Cowan was the owner of an IT service company.[5] During the campaign for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, he ran the official "Yes" campaign in Inverclyde.[5]

Career

At the 2015 election, Cowan overturned the 5,838-vote majority of incumbent Labour MP Iain McKenzie and turned it into a 11,063 majority for the SNP.[5]

He was re-elected in the snap election of 2017, but saw his majority significantly reduced to just 384 votes.[6] At the 2019 election, Cowan increased his majority to 7,512.[7]

In 2019 Cowan voted in favor of equal gay rights. [8]

References
  1. "No. 27885". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 1077.
  2. Cowan, Ronnie. "Inverclyde Parliamentary Constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. Coulter, Paul John (13 December 2019). "SNP hold Inverclyde in spectacular fashion". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  4. Lochrie, Susan (6 October 2016). "MP shares memories of Morton legend dad with dementia sufferers". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  5. Nutt, Kathleen (31 July 2015). "Meet your new Scottish MPs: #38 Ronnie Cowan, Inverclyde". The National. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  6. "Ronnie Cowan re-elected as MP for Inverclyde at 2017 General Election". www.wemyssbay.net. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  7. "Inverclyde parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News.
  8. "How Ronnie Cowan voted on equal gay rights". They Work For You. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
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