Colin Clark (politician)

Colin James Clark (born 20 May 1969) is a former Scottish Conservative politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Gordon[3] from 8 June 2017 until 6 November 2019,[4] shortly prior to the 2019 general election, at which he was unseated by the Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate Richard Thomson by a narrow majority of 819 votes.[5]

Colin Clark
Clark in 2017
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
In office
27 July 2019 – 16 December 2019
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byIan Duncan
Succeeded byDouglas Ross
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
27 July 2019 – 16 December 2019
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byGeorge Hollingbery
Succeeded byDouglas Ross
Member of Parliament
for Gordon
In office
9 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded byAlex Salmond
Succeeded byRichard Thomson
Personal details
Born
Colin James Clark[1]

(1969-05-20) 20 May 1969[2]
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Philippa Jones (m. 2005)
ChildrenTwo sons
Alma materHeriot-Watt University

He had previously contested the East Aberdeenshire constituency at the 2016 Holyrood elections, and finished second to the SNP's Gillian Martin with a 29% share of the vote. Clark was elected to Aberdeenshire Council in a 2016 by-election and re-elected in May 2017, shortly before the 2017 snap general election at which he was elected as the MP for Gordon with a majority of 2,607 votes over Alex Salmond of the SNP, a former First Minister of Scotland.[6]

Clark worked in business and agriculture until his election to the House of Commons.[7]

He was educated at Turriff Academy, a comprehensive school and Heriot-Watt University.[8]

In January 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). He also sat on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Backbench Committee. On 27 July 2019, he was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland and a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in the first Johnson ministry.[9]

Clark was blocked by Ruth Davidson from running in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[10]

References
  1. "No. 27885". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 1076.
  2. "Clark, Colin James". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  3. "Colin Clark MP". UK Parliament.
  4. "'Gordon giant-slayer' Colin Clark says Salmond thought he was "too big to fall"". Press and Journal.
  5. "UK Parliamentary Election Results - Gordon" (PDF).
  6. Haslam, Dale. "New cabinet role will benefit north-east says MP Colin Clark". Evening Express. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. "About Colin Clark". Colin Clark MP.
  8. Haslam, Dale (29 July 2019). "New cabinet role will benefit north-east, says MP Colin Clark". Evening Express. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  9. "Colin Clark MP - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  10. O'Donoghue, Daniel. "Ruth Davidson sparks Tory row over ex-Gordon MP". Press and Journal. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Alex Salmond		 Member of Parliament for Gordon
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Richard Thomson
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