Maurice Charles Steuart-Corry TD (born June 1950) 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. He was a

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 West Scotland region from the

2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth Next Scottish Parliament election, election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It ...

until the 2021 election. He is currently the

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

Argyll & Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020). The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgil ...

Career

Army career

Corry joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1972 serving initially with the

51st Highland Volunteers The 51st Highland Volunteers (51 HIGHLAND) is a battalion in the British Army's Army Reserve or reserve force in the Scottish Highlands, forming the 7th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, also known as 7 SCOTS. It is one of two R ...

part of the Territorial Army. Captain Corry was awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the British Colonial Auxiliary Forces, Auxiliary Military Forces, ...

in 1984., a first clasp to the medal in February 1994 and a second clasp in 1997 He was promoted to major in June 1984. Major Corry was transferred to the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

in February 1995. He retired from the

Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Regiment of Scotland (SCOTS) is the British Army Order of Precedence, senior and only current Scottish regiment, Scottish line infantry Regiment#British Army, regiment of the British Army Infantry. It consists of three regular (form ...

in September 2009.

Political career

Corry was elected to the Argyll and Bute council, representing Lomond North in 2012. In 2016, Corry 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'. ...

as the Conservative candidate for

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

where he came third, then was elected from the West Scotland regional list. Corry sat on the Parliament's Public Petitions Committee. After his election to the Scottish Parliament he also continued in his position as a local councillor. He is the Conservative's spokesperson for veterans' affairs. In May 2016 in a Holyrood EU Referendum debate, Corry voted to back the case to leave the European Union. He later explained he had pressed the wrong button during the vote. 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, ...

, Corry contested the Dumbarton constituency, a Labour– SNP marginal where he came a distant third with 8.3% of the votes. He was placed eighth on the Conservative list for West Scotland, so he did not win one of the three list seats the party was entitled to. Corry's low placement on the list followed his omission from a list of endorsements by a vetting committee set up by

Ruth Davidson Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links, (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician. A member of the House of Lords since 2021, she was Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the S ...

, the leader of the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament. In the 2022 Council Election, he was returned once again to

as a member for Lomond North, and was appointed

by the administration on 18 May 2022.

References

External links

*
profile
on Argyll & Bute council 1950 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Scottish Conservative councillors Councillors in Argyll and Bute People from Helensburgh Royal Regiment of Scotland officers 51st Highland Volunteers officers Black Watch officers {{MSP-stub