Michelle Thomson
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Michelle Thomson MP |
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SNP Spokesperson for Business, Innovation & Skills |
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In office 20 May 2015 – 30 September 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Hannah Bardell |
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Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West |
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Assumed office 8 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Crockart |
| Majority | 3,210 (5.9%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Michelle Rhonda Perks 11 March 1965 Bearsden, Scotland |
| Political party |
Scottish National Party (pre-2015) Independent (2015–present) |
| Alma mater | Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama |
Michelle Rhonda Thomson (born 11 March 1965) is a politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh West since May 2015. She served as the SNP Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson in the House of Commons until her resignation of the party whip in September 2015. She remains the only Scottish MP on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee.
Thomson graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1985.
In December 2016, in a House of Commons debate focused on UN International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women, Thomson described the impact of having been raped at the age of 14, highlighting the conditions of silence and shame that prevent rape from being discussed or reported.
Thomson initially worked as a professional musician and then completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Information technology (IT). She worked in Financial Services for Standard Life and the Royal Bank of Scotland for over 23 years in a variety of senior roles delivering IT and business change. In 2009 she set up her own small business in property.
Thomson joined the SNP at 16 years old in 1981. She became prominent politically during the Scottish independence referendum campaign, with the Yes campaign spending two years as managing director of Business for Scotland. In this role, she spoke at over 90 events, took part in high-profile debates and undertook extensive media appearances. It was later revealed that under instruction from Peter Murrell, chief executive of the SNP and husband of First Minister (although deputy to Alex Salmond at the time) Nicola Sturgeon, Thomson had been stripped of her role as a paid consultant at Business for Scotland some months before the referendum. Business for Scotland refused to continue payments for 'consultancy' work, but came to a deal that allowed her to stay on unpaid as "Managing Director" for press purposes in order to avoid discrediting BfS before the referendum. As part of her role on the BEIS committee, Thomson was one of the members of the joint committee inquiry into the collapse of BHS.
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