Richard Thomson

Richard Gordon Thomson (born 16 June 1976) is a Scottish politician. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gordon from 2019 until the seat's abolition in 2024. He was also previously the leader of the SNP group on Aberdeenshire Council. and SNP Spokesperson for Wales and Northern Ireland until 2024. . He was the party's candidate in the 2026 Aberdeen South by-election but was defeated by the Conservatives' Douglas Lumsden.

Early life and education Thomson was born in Edinburgh in 1976, the son of Alexander and Ethel Thomson.

He was educated at Tynecastle High School, Edinburgh, before going to the University of Stirling to study History and Politics. He gained a BA (Hons) in 1998.

Career He worked for Scottish Widows in Edinburgh from 1999 to 2004, firstly as an Assistant Manager in their Customer Relations Department, and latterly as an Account Manager in Corporate Pensions.

Since 2017, he has been Deputy Editor of The Scots Independent newspaper. Thomson was Parliamentary Assistant to Salmond from 2008 to 2011.

He worked as a senior researcher to MSP Shona Robison and MP Stewart Hosie from 2000 to 2007. He was leader of Aberdeenshire Council from June 2015 until May 2017, and Opposition Leader from 2017 to 2020.

He was selected to contest the Gordon constituency for the second time at the 2019 general election. During the campaign he claimed, "A vote for me.. is not a vote for Scottish independence and I will never, ever, try and claim it as such." He narrowly won the seat from the Conservative incumbent Colin Clark, with a slim majority of 819 votes (1.4%).

In March 2020, Thomson resigned from Aberdeenshire Council to "concentrate 100% on being the MP for the Gordon Constituency".

In 2023, when questioned about Inverurie's largest medical practice not renewing its NHS contract due to recruitment issues, Thomson said he "would do everything" he could "to attract doctors to the constituency".

In the 2024 general election, he contested Gordon and Buchan but was defeated by the Conservative Harriet Cross.

Post-parliamentary career Following his defeat at the 2024 UK General Election, was appointed as an Associate Director at public affairs consultancy Invicta Public Affairs Ltd.

Thomson unsuccessfully attempted to stand as an SNP candidate in the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary elections, seeking the nomination for Angus North and Mearns. He was not selected, instead Dawn Black was nominated and she went on to win the constituency in the election.

In May 2026, he was selected as the SNP candidate in the 2026 Aberdeen South by-election, triggered by the resignation of Stephen Flynn upon his election to the Scottish Parliament. He lost the by-election to the Scottish Conservatives' Douglas Lumsden.

Personal life Thomson lives in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. His partner is Eilidh Mackechnie; the couple have two daughters.