Finlay Hamilton Carson (born 18 October 1967) is a

Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 30 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Par ...

politician serving as

Convener The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee since 2021. He has been the

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for the

Galloway and West Dumfries Galloway and West Dumfries ( Gaelic: ''Gall-Ghaidhealaibh agus Dùn Phrìs an Iar'') is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parli ...

since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Early life and education

Carson was born in

Twynholm Twynholm () is a village in Scotland. It is located north-northwest of Kirkcudbright and east of Gatehouse of Fleet on the main A75 trunk road. It is in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire , Dumfries and Galloway.

on 18 October 1967. He attended Twynholm Primary School and later Kirkcudbright Academy. Carson then went to study at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

where he graduated with a BSc Agriculture. Carson and his brother ran an IT business together. Carson lives with wife Jackie and has 4 children.

Political career

Carson, from 2012, was a councillor for Castle Douglas and Glenkens. He succeeded Peter Duncan who was the former MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

he stood for the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

as the Conservative candidate for the

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...

constituency where he was unsuccessful and came second to the SNP's Richard Arkless by 11.5% of the vote. In 2016 he stood for the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

in Galloway and West Dumfries, in place of the retiring Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson. He successfully held the seat for the Conservatives and had a majority of 1,514 votes (4.5%) over his SNP rival Aileen McLeod with a swing of 0.8% from the SNP to the Conservatives. Carson is the convener of the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs and Islands Committee. At the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

Carson was re-elected as MSP for Galloway and West Dumfries with an increased majority of 2,635 votes over the SNP's

Emma Harper Emma Harper is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Early life Harper was born and raised on a farm near ...

who finished in second place. Carson said he was "absolutely delighted" his vote share increased and while he thought " Indyref2 played some part in some people’s votes" he attributed his victory it to people supporting his position of challenging the Scottish Government on issues relating to "investment in the south-west and particularly in the west of the region in

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

". On 12 January 2022, Carson called for

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the Westminster lockdown parties controversy along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Finlay 1967 births Living people People from Dumfries and Galloway People educated at Kirkcudbright Academy Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Scottish Conservative councillors Councillors in Dumfries and Galloway