Colin James Clark (born 20 May 1969) is a Scottish politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon from 2017 to 2019. He is a member of the Scottish Conservatives.
Colin Clark | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | |
| In office 27 July 2019 – 16 December 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | Ian Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Ross |
| Lord Commissioner of the Treasury | |
| In office 27 July 2019 – 16 December 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Boris Johnson |
| Preceded by | George Hollingbery |
| Succeeded by | Douglas Ross |
| Member of Parliament for Gordon | |
| In office 8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Alex Salmond |
| Succeeded by | Richard Thomson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Colin James Clark[1] 20 May 1969[2] Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse | Philippa Jones (m. 2005) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Heriot-Watt University |
Early life edit
Clark was educated at Turriff Academy, a comprehensive school and Heriot-Watt University.[3] He worked in business and agriculture until his election to the House of Commons.[4]
Political career edit
During the 2015 election campaign, Clark's Scottish National Party (SNP) opponent in Gordon, Alex Salmond, recorded in his diary: "The Tory candidate, Colin Clark, cuts an impressive figure but his politics are far too dry for this area. If the constituency were composed entirely of michty fairmers then he might be the ideal candidate. But it isn't and he is not."[5]
Clark then 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.[3][6]
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.[7][8]
Clark was unseated at the 2019 United Kingdom general election by the SNP candidate Richard Thomson by a narrow majority of 819 votes.[9]
Later career edit
Clark was blocked by Ruth Davidson from standing at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[10]
References edit
- ^ "No. 27885". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 1076.
- ^ "Clark, Colin James". 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 Haslam, Dale (29 July 2019). "New cabinet role will benefit north-east, says MP Colin Clark". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "About Colin Clark". Colin Clark MP.
- ^ The Dream Shall Never die.
- ^ Razaq, Lindsay (10 June 2017). "'Gordon giant-slayer' Colin Clark says Salmond thought he was "too big to fall"". Press and Journal.
- ^ "Colin Clark MP - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "Colin Clark MP". UK Parliament.
- ^ "UK Parliamentary Election Results - Gordon" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2019.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Daniel (5 February 2021). "Ruth Davidson sparks Tory row over ex-Gordon MP". Press and Journal. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
