Harriet Cross
Harriet Cross | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Opposition Assistant Whip | |
| Assumed office 18 November 2024 | |
| Leader | Kemi Badenoch |
| Member of Parliament for Gordon and Buchan | |
| Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Thomson |
| Majority | 878 (2.0%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harriet Iona Cross 1989 or 1990 (age 36–37) Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England |
| Party | Conservative |
| Education | Bandon Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Imperial College London (BSc) University of Reading (MSc) |
| Occupation |
|
| Website | www |
Harriet Iona Cross[1] (born 1990 or 1991)[2] is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Gordon and Buchan since the 2024 general election.[3] She is a member of the Scottish Conservatives.
Early life
[edit]Cross was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and grew up in West Cork, Ireland where her mother was from. She attended Bandon Grammar School in Bandon, County Cork before the family moved to Aberdeenshire, owing to her father's work, when she was sixteen.[4][5] She attended Gordonstoun School,[citation needed] after which she studied zoology at Imperial College London before earning a master's degree in Rural Land and Business Management and from the University of Reading.[5][6] In 2018, she returned to Aberdeenshire to work as a rural surveyor.[7]
Cross stood as the Conservative candidate for Aberdeen Donside at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, finishing second to Jackie Dunbar with 9,488 votes (26.42%).[2] She was also ninth on the party list for the North East Scotland region.[8]
Parliamentary career
[edit]Cross was elected as the MP for the newly created merged seat of Gordon and Buchan at the 2024 UK general election with a narrow majority of 878 votes. The result was the worst defeat nationwide for the Conservative Party in the history of the UK, eclipsing the 1906 and 1997 landslide defeats for Conservative governments. Prior to 2024, the Banff and Buchan seat was held by the Scottish Conservatives and the Gordon seat held by the SNP.[9] In the 2024 UK Conservative party leadership election she backed Tom Tugendhat.[10]
In September 2024, Cross criticised the Bank of Scotland's proposal to close its Ellon branch, leaving the area without a single bank branch. Despite her opposition to the decision, alongside several members of the community, the sole remaining bank branch in the town permanently closed down on 10 September 2024.[11]
Cross was appointed an Opposition Assistant Whip in November 2024.[12]
In April 2026, Cross became the fastest female MP ever to complete the London Marathon, the previous record holder in that category was Jo Swinson in 2019. Cross finished the race in a time of three hours, twenty one minutes; the previous record was three hours fifty seven minutes. In the same event, the next MP to finish was West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie, who recorded a time of 3 hours fifty-eight minutes. [13]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 July 2024.
- 1 2 Merson, Adele (30 June 2024). "Meet Tory rising star Harriet Cross who could buck national trend in Gordon and Buchan". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ↑ Clark, Jonny (5 July 2024). "Conservative Harriet Cross elected as MP for Gordon and Buchan". Grampian Online. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ↑ Ross, Calum (12 October 2020). "Shy bairns get nowt: Yorkshire-born Harriet Cross gets straight to the point of politics". Press and Journal. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- 1 2 Gilmour, Ruaraidh (11 February 2025). "Harriet Cross: Reform isn't driving the debate at Westminster". Holyrood.
- ↑ Millar, Jim (6 June 2024). "Tory Westminster hopeful Harriet Cross outlines why she is standing for election". The Scottish Farmer. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ↑ Fraser, Tali (2 October 2024). "ory MP Harriet Cross on how ultra marathons prepared her for Westminster". The House.
- ↑ "North East Scotland 2021 - Ballot Box Scotland". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ↑ "Huntly MP vows to serve constituents". Grampian Online. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ↑ "Harriet Cross endorses Tom Tugendhat for Conservative leadership". Holyrood Website. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ↑ Britton, Ruaraidh (5 September 2024). "MP urges Bank of Scotland to roll out mobile branch as Ellon set to lose last physical bank". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ↑ "Harriet Cross - Parliamentary career". UK Parliament. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
- ↑ "Local MP breaks record to become fastest female MP to complete London Marathon - Aberdeen Business News". 28 April 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at Public Whip
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
- Profile on OpenSanctions, an open database of sanctions and persons of interest
- 1990s births
- Living people
- UK MPs 2024–present
- Scottish Conservative MPs
- Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
- Alumni of Imperial College London
- Alumni of the University of Reading
- Scottish surveyors
- Scottish people of Irish descent
- People educated at Bandon Grammar School
- People from Bandon, County Cork
- People from Harrogate
