Ronnie Cowan (politician)

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
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] (1959-09-06) 6 September 1959 (age 65) Inverclyde, Scotland
Political party	Scottish National Party

Early life and career

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]

Political 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.^[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]