Andrew Bowie (politician)
Andrew Campbell Bowie (born 28 May 1987) is a Scottish Conservative politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine since 2017.[2][3] He previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Nuclear and Networks from 2023 to 2024.[a][4] He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland since November 2024. He served as Shadow Veterans Minister and Shadow Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero from July to November 2024.[5][6]
Early life and education
[edit]Andrew Bowie was born on 28 May 1987 in Arbroath.[7] He spent his early childhood in Alford, before moving to Inverurie, and was educated at Market Place School and Inverurie Academy in Aberdeenshire.[7][8] While studying at Inverurie Academy, Bowie was chosen to join the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, playing the violin.[9] 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.[10]
Political career
[edit]After graduating from the University of Aberdeen, Bowie was employed as a Military Projects Coordinator for the 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 Ian Duncan. 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 MSP for the North East Scotland region.[10] In 2016, while working for Kerr, he was forced to apologise to a female SNP councillor to whom he accidentally sent an offensive email.[11][12]
Parliamentary career
[edit]At the snap 2017 general election, Bowie was elected to Parliament as MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine with 47.9% of the vote and a majority of 7,950.[13][14][15]
From October 2017 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.[16]
In December 2018, he was promoted to Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Prime Minister by Theresa May until her resignation in July 2019.[17]
In July 2019, Bowie was appointed as one of six vice-chairmen of the Conservative Party and was responsible for the Young Conservatives.[18]
Bowie was re-elected as MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine at the 2019 general election with a decreased vote share of 42.7% and a decreased majority of 843 votes.[19][20][21][22]
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".[23][24]
From October 2022 to February 2023, Bowie was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Exports) at the Department for International Trade working for Kemi Badenoch.[25]
He is an advocate of the Down Syndrome Act, which recognises people with Down syndrome as a specific minority group.[26]
In 2023, he campaigned against energy pylons in his constituency, describing it as a "priority of mine."[27][28]
Bowie was again re-elected at the 2024 general election, with a decreased vote share of 35.6% and an increased majority of 3,441 votes.[29]
Personal life
[edit]He is married to Madeleine Clarke, who is originally from Stockholm, and together they have a daughter, Emily, born 18 August 2022.[30][8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Bowie joins RNR". The Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- ^ "Andrew Bowie MP". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ Davidson, Peter (9 June 2017). "Bowie says 'people have spoken' after landslide win in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ "Andrew Bowie MP". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "UK politics live: Anxiety over NHS legitimate but I'm optimistic about future, says Wes Streeting". BBC News. Archived from the original on 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "Conservative Party announces interim Opposition Front Bench". policymogul.com. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
- ^ a b "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.)
- ^ a b "About Andrew". Andrew Bowie MP. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ PoliticsHome.com (1 July 2019). "Unparliamentary Language: Andrew Bowie". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Who are Scotland's new MPs?". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ "Tory chief apologises after "flipping woman" email". 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "SNP councillor reported to standards watchdog over suggestion Andrew Bowie should be 'dangled' from a bridge". Press and Journal. 23 July 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Results" (PDF). www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
- ^ "UK Parliamentary Election Results - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine" (PDF).
- ^ McKiernan, Jennifer (2 March 2018). "First Scottish Conservative promoted to leave the back benches is Andrew Bowie". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. 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. 5 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. 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.
- ^ "General Election 2019". Aberdeenshire Council. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ Allegretti, Aubrey (10 November 2021). "Tory party vice-chair Andrew Bowie resigns in protest over sleaze". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Rodger, Hannah (10 November 2021). "Tory MP Andrew Bowie quits as vice chair of the Conservative party". The Herald. Scotland. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ "Andrew Bowie profile". Gov.uk. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ "MP voices support for Down Syndrome Bill". Grampian Online. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ "UK pylons minister reshuffled after … campaigning against local pylons". Politco. 4 February 2024.
- ^ "The green vs. NIMBY split blowing up British politics". POLITICO. 18 November 2024.
- ^ "West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine - General election results 2024". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
- ^ Walker, David (19 August 2022). "Tory MP Andrew Bowie announces birth of new baby girl in gushing message". Scottish Daily Express. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
External links
[edit]
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
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