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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]
Ronnie Cowan
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Official portrait, 2017
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| 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] (1959-09-06) 6 September 1959 (age 64) Inverclyde, Scotland |
| Political party | Scottish National Party |
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Cowan was born in GreenocktoJimmy 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]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Inverclyde 2015–present |
Incumbent |