Richard was born in Edinburgh and educated at the city’s Tynecastle High School, before going on to study History and Politics at the University of Stirling.

Full statement

He began his career in the financial sector, before being appointed as the SNP’s Head of Campaigns ahead of the 2005 UK General Election.Following the election, Richard remained active in political life, working as a Parliamentary Researcher for Stewart Hosie MP and Shona Robison MSP, before being appointed as Head of Research for the SNP’s Westminster Group in the House of Commons. He returned to Scotland in 2008 to work for Alex Salmond MP/MSP and to contest the Gordon constituency for the SNP at the 2010 UK General Election.Richard is a former reporter/columnist for the Ellon Times and Inverurie Herald newspapers in Aberdeenshire. He was elected in 2012 as a Councillor for the Ellon & District ward on Aberdeenshire Council and served as the Council’s Vice-Chair of Scrutiny and Audit.In 2015, he became the Leader of the SNP Group of Councillors on Aberdeenshire Council, serving as Co-Leader of the local authority until May 2017 and following that, as Leader of the Opposition until he stood down as a Councillor following his election to Westminster. He also served as Vice-Chair of the North Sea Commission’s Marine Resources Group.A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Richard was elected as the Member of Parliament for Gordon at the General Election of December 2019. He serves as the party’s Westminster Spokesperson on Business and International Trade.