Ronnie Cowan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of Parliament for Inverclyde | |
| In office 7 May 2015 –30 May 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Iain McKenzie |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Jack Cowan [1] 6 September 1959 Inverclyde,Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
Ronald Jack Cowan (born 6 September 1959) is a Scottish politician and member of the Scottish National Party. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverclyde from 2015 until 2024. [2]
Cowan was born in Greenock to Jimmy Cowan,a former Greenock Morton and Scotland footballer,and his wife,May. [3] [4] 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. [3] After leaving school,Cowan worked as a trainee computer operator at Playtex in Port Glasgow.
Before standing for parliament,Cowan was the owner of an IT service company. [3] During the campaign for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum,he ran the official "Yes" campaign in Inverclyde. [3]
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. [3]
He was re-elected in the snap election of 2017,but saw his majority significantly reduced to just 384 votes. [5] At the 2019 election,Cowan increased his majority to 7,512. [6]
In 2019,Cowan voted in favor of equal gay rights. [7] He is regarded as a critic of the gambling industry and has led a debate in Westminster highlighting harm caused by gambling advertising in sport.
Cowan was the SNP spokesperson for Infrastructure &Manufacturing at Westminster. [8] He currently sits on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee and has previously sat on the Transport Committee and Procedure Committee. He serves as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Industrial Hemp and CBD Products,as well as Vice Chair of the APPGs for Gambling Related Harm,Medical Cannabis under Prescription,and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. [9]
Cowan is a trustee of Intractable Epilepsy and Man On! Inverclyde. [8]
