Thomas 'Tom' Compton Arthur MSP (born 1985) is a

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP) politician. He is the

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...

(MSP) for the constituency of Renfrewshire South, having been first elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2021. In May 2021 he was appointed Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government.

Background

Arthur was born in 1985 in

Paisley, Renfrewshire Paisley ( ; sco, Paisley, gd, Pàislig ) is a large town situated in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Located north of the Gleniffer Braes, the town borders the city of Glasgow to the east, and straddles the banks of the White Cart Wate ...

and raised in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, where he was educated at Cross Arthurlie Primary and Barrhead High School. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

then later Master of Music from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Before entering politics, he worked as a company director, freelance piano teacher and keyboardist.

Political career

Arthur joined the

in 2009. He was elected as the first SNP

(MSP) for the Renfrewshire South constituency at 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 election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...

. Arthur made his debut speech in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

on 26 May 2016. He was re-elected in the

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

with a 50.5% vote share in the constituency and gained an increased majority of 7,106 votes or 20.5% over the nearest challenger. In May 2021 he was appointed Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government. He founded the cross party group on music.

References

External links

*
profile
on SNP website {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Tom 1985 births Living people Politicians from Paisley, Renfrewshire Ministers of the Scottish Government Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish solicitors Scottish National Party MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 People from Barrhead