During his time as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, Thomson was the Scottish Conservative spokesperson for Further Education, Higher Education and Science,[12] and sat on the Education and Skills Committee.[13] Thomson also became a spokesman for Vote Leave in Scotland during the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum as one of the few members of the Scottish Parliament supporting a leave vote.[14][15]
On 5 October 2016, Thomson repaid expenses relating to a night's stay in an Edinburgh hotel with a male friend, Braden Davy, whom he subsequently hired over the objections of the Tory chief whip.[16]
On 8 June 2017, Thomson became the Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South, defeating incumbent Callum McCaig, with 18,746 votes, a 19.3% swing and a majority of 4,752.[17] He stood down from his seat as an MSP after being elected as a Westminster MP.[18] after entering the UK Parliament, Thomson became known as a "hardline" supporter of Brexit.[19]
In April 2018, Thomson was criticised for posts made on his private social media account whilst visiting Baghdad. Thomson was accused of trivialising the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein when he posed for photos at Hussein's military parade ground. A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: "Ross has already made clear he did not intend to cause any offence and apologises to anyone who has been upset."[20]
After stepping down as an MP, Thomson has worked as a public affairs and campaign manager for the Earl Haig Fund Scotland (also known as Poppyscotland).[23] It was revealed in April 2025 that he was working for one of Donald Trump's firms, Trump International resort in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire.[24]
In June 2025 he announced he had defected to Reform UK, saying "only Reform have the courage and answers to the issues facing Scotland and the United Kingdom".[25]
Personal life
Thomson entered into a civil partnership with his partner in November 2013, which lasted until 2018.[26]
On 29 November 2018, Callum Purdie was convicted at Aberdeen Sheriff Court of causing a disturbance at the constituency office of Thomson.[27] The following month, Purdie, who was not one of Thomson's constituents, was ordered to stay away from Thomson's office and his staff for two years.[28]
Sexual misconduct allegations
On 6 February 2019, various newspapers reported that Thomson had been escorted by police from the Strangers' Bar of the House of Commons the previous evening. Initial reports indicated that police had attended following reports of sexual assault of patrons by the MP. Eyewitnesses claimed that Thomson had repeatedly groped several young men also present in the bar, grabbing their bottoms and genitals. A Conservative Party investigation is yet to conclude, but the Parliamentary Commissioner on Standards dismissed the complaint.[29][30][31][32]
Thomson denied any wrongdoing, citing the allegations as politically motivated.[33]
On 3 November 2019 MP Paul Sweeney accused Thomson of sexual assault in the Strangers' Bar in October 2018.[34] The same day Thomson announced that he would not stand for re-election as the Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South, denying the allegation and stating that it had made his life 'a living hell'.[35] It later emerged that the chairman of Thomson's local Conservative Association had refused to sign the nomination papers to allow him to stand as a Conservative candidate in the December 2019 general election.[36]
In October 2020, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards "concluded that Thomson's behaviour was not sexual in nature and cleared him of any breach of parliament's misconduct policy".[37]
Notes
↑Normally, regional MSPs do not have individual predecessors and successors. However, Thomson stood down during a sitting parliament so was succeeded by Mason.
