Kirsten Oswald

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Kirsten Oswald
MP
Kirsten Oswald.jpg
Official portrait, 2020
Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons
Assumed office
7 July 2020
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byKirsty Blackman
Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byPaul Masterton
Majority5,426 (9.8%)
In office
7 May 2015 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byJim Murphy
Succeeded byPaul Masterton
Chairman & Business Convener
of the Scottish National Party
Assumed office
3 November 2018
LeaderNicola Sturgeon
Preceded byDerek Mackay
Personal details
Born
Kirsten Frances Oswald

(1972-12-21) 21 December 1972 (age 49)
Dundee, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Spouse(s)Davinder Bedi
Alma materUniversity of Glasgow
WebsiteCampaign website

Kirsten Frances Oswald (born 21 December 1972)[1] is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader since 2020. First elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire in 2015, she was unseated at the 2017 snap election[2] but subsequently re-elected at the 2019 election.

Early life and education[]

Oswald was born in Dundee to Helen and Ed Oswald.[3] Her mother Helen, was Provost of Angus Council.[4] She grew up in Carnoustie where she attended Carnoustie High School.[4] She studied history at the University of Glasgow graduating with an MA(Hons) in 2005.[3]

Oswald is married to Davinder Bedi. Soon after her election in 2015, Bedi joined Scottish Labour. It was acknowledged that Mr Bedi had not campaigned for his wife during the election.[5]

She moved to East Renfrewshire with her husband and two sons in 2008. Oswald was head of Human Resources at South Lanarkshire College for 12 years.[6]

Political career[]

Oswald became active in the Scottish National Party during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, serving on the committee of her local Women for Independence group where she was responsible for local food bank collections.[7]

On 30 January 2015, it was announced that Oswald was selected as the SNP candidate for the East Renfrewshire constituency at the 2015 general election.[8] During her campaign, she was criticised for sending letters to Conservative voters asking for their support to beat Labour. Oswald stated that her letters served to contrast voter values with negative campaign tactics from the Conservatives that focused on keeping the SNP out of power.[9][10]

She won the seat with a majority of 3,718 votes, unseating the-then Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jim Murphy. Murphy had held the seat since Labour's victory 18 years earlier, and resigned from the Scottish Labour leadership on 13 June 2015.[11][12]

At the 2017 general election, Oswald lost her seat to Paul Masterton of the Conservatives, who won with a majority of 4,712 votes.[13]

In 2018 she was elected Chairman and Business Convener of the SNP,[14] replacing then Scottish Government Finance Secretary Derek Mackay.[15]

She was selected by the SNP to contest for the East Renfrewshire seat in the 2019 general election,[16] where she was re-elected with a majority of 5,426 votes or 9.8% - larger than her previous majority in 2015.[17]

On 7 July 2020, she was elected deputy leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, succeeding Kirsty Blackman.[18]

In May 2021, Oswald claimed that she fundamentally disagreed with her colleague Douglas Chapman on the assessment of support and financial information available to him in his role as party Treasurer. Chapman had stood from this role in the wake of a probe regarding £600,000 ‘missing’ independence campaign funds being investigated by Police Scotland.[19]

Oswald has spoken out about China's reported repression repeatedly in the House of Commons. In September 2021, Uyghur leaders honoured her for her continued work on their cause and the World Uyghur Congress publicly thanked her for her support.[20]

References[]

  1. ^ Dale, Iain; Smith, Jacqui (14 November 2019). The Honourable Ladies: Volume II: Profiles of Women MPs 1997–2019. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781785904479. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. ^ "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Oswald, Kirsten Frances, (born 21 Dec. 1972), MP (SNP) East Renfrewshire, since 2015", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2015, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u283887, retrieved 11 July 2021
  4. ^ a b "Carnoustie Lady Aims for Westminster". The Guide and Gazette. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Husband of SNP MP who unseated Jim Murphy joins Labour Party". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  6. ^ Burns, Janice (15 May 2015). "Meet Your New Scottish MPs: #4 Kirsten Oswald, East Renfrewshire". The National. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  7. ^ "General election 2015: the winners and losers". The Guardian. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  8. ^ "Kirsten Oswald to stand for Scottish National Party", Barrhead News, 30 January 2015, retrieved 8 May 2015
  9. ^ "SNP candidate sparks row after asking Tories to help her claim Jim Murphy's scalp". The Herald. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  10. ^ "SNP candidate asks Tory voters to help beat Labour". The Scotsman. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  11. ^ UK prediction results – Renfrewshire East Parliamentary constituency, bbc.co.uk
  12. ^ "How election was won north & south of the border". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  13. ^ "Refrewshire East Results", BBC News, 9 June 2017, retrieved 10 August 2017
  14. ^ Beaton, Ailean (7 July 2020). "Kirsten Oswald elected SNP deputy leader at Westminster". Holyrood.com. Dods Group PLC. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. ^ Sim, Philip (16 February 2020). "Derek Mackay: Who is Scotland's former finance secretary?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  16. ^ "SNP Fundraising page", SNP Website, 9 November 2019, retrieved 9 November 2019
  17. ^ "Renfrewshire East parliamentary constituency - Election 2019" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "BBC News - Kirsten Oswald is new SNP Westminster deputy leader". BBC News. 8 July 2020.
  19. ^ Johnson, Simon (13 July 2021). "Police investigate SNP over 'missing' independence campaign funds". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  20. ^ "World Uyghur Congress praises SNP MP Kirsten Oswald for raising genocide". The National. Retrieved 26 September 2021.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for East Renfrewshire
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""