Drew Hendry
MP
Official portrait, 2017
SNP Treasury Spokesperson in the House of Commons
Assumed office
4 September 2023
LeaderStephen Flynn
Preceded byStewart Hosie
SNP Foreign Affairs Spokesperson in the House of Commons
In office
10 December 2022 – 4 September 2023
LeaderStephen Flynn
Preceded byAlyn Smith
Succeeded byBrendan O'Hara
SNP Spokesperson for International Trade in the House of Commons
In office
1 February 2021 – 10 December 2022
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byStewart Hosie
Succeeded byRichard Thomson
SNP Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the House of Commons
In office
20 June 2017 – 1 February 2021
LeaderIan Blackford
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byStephen Flynn
Member of Parliament
for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Assumed office
7 May 2015
Preceded byDanny Alexander
Majority10,440 (19.0%)
Personal details
Born
Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry

(1964-05-31) 31 May 1964
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyScottish National Party
Websitewww.drewhendrymp.scot

Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry[1] (born 31 May 1964),[2][3] known as Drew Hendry, is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey since 2015. Hendry has served as the SNP's Economy Spokesperson in the House of Commons since September 2023.[4]

He was a councillor in Highland from 2007 to 2015 and was Council Leader from 2012 to 2015.

Early life

He grew up in Edinburgh. Although as a teenager he was too young to vote in the Scottish referendum of 1979 he feels this sparked his interest in politics and representation.[5] He worked for Electrolux.[6] He lived and worked in Edinburgh until 1999 when he and his wife moved to Tore in the Black Isle.[5] In 1999 he founded a company, teclan ltd, in Inverness, which delivers digital marketing services for online retailers and ecommerce merchants.[5]

He is the uncle of the wrestler Joe Hendry.[7][8]

Highland Council

Hendry was first elected in the 2007 Local Elections for the Aird and Loch Ness Ward with 892 first preferences taking the third seat out of four.[9] He was appointed leader of the SNP Highland Council group in 2011, replacing John Finnie who had become a list MSP for the Highlands and Islands.[10] In September 2007, he was appointed to the board of the Cairngorms National Park Authority.[11]

He was selected to stand as one of the SNP's candidates for the six Scotland seats in the 2009 European Parliament election, although he was fourth on their list and the outcome of the voting was the SNP returned two MEPs.[12][13]

In the 2012 local elections he took the second seat in the ward, being elected with 840 first preferences and on the first count.[14] After the 2012 Scottish local elections the SNP, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Labour Party formed a coalition to run the council with Drew Hendry as Council Leader.[15][16] The coalition held a 44–36 majority.[17] This was the first time that the Independents have not been involved in the administration of the Highland Council.[18]

Prior to the formation of the administration, he was leader of the SNP group in the council.[19] He is credited with bringing in the real living wage for council employees,[20] along with the creation of the Science Skills Academy and, also for committing the Highland Council to achieving Carbon neutral status for Inverness by 2025 – as part of the wider 'Carbon Clever' initiative.

Having been elected as an MP, Hendry immediately resigned from his position as leader of Highland Council.[21] Two months later, he announced that he was also resigning from his position of councillor for Aird and Loch Ness, in order to focus on his duties as an MP.[22]

House of Commons

In November 2014 he put his name forward as a prospective candidate for the Westminster election.[23] In January 2015 it was announced that he had been selected to contest the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency in the 2015 general election.[24] The incumbent Danny Alexander had held the seat for the past 10 years and had been a key architect of the Liberal Democrats coalition deal with the Conservatives in 2010.[25] Hendry spent less than half the amount on his campaign for this election that Alexander did. Alexander's campaign spend of £50,000 was the highest in Scotland, with 80 per cent of this money coming from wealthy individuals.[26] Hendry won the election, beating Alexander by more than 10,000 votes.[27]

On 20 May 2015, he was announced as one of the SNP's leadership team at Westminster and as the party's spokesperson on Transport.[28] In 2017, he was appointed as SNP Leader for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Hendry chairs Westminster's all-party parliamentary group for the Terminally ill.

At the 2017 election, Hendry's majority was reduced from 10,809 to 4,924.[29]

At the 2019 election, his majority increased from 4,924 to 10,440.[30]

In June 2020, Hendry supported the declaration of additional financial support by the Scottish Government during the summer months for students experiencing financial distress. The Scottish Government approved early exposure to £11.4 million in surplus funding to assist graduates in higher education.[31]

In December 2020, during a debate on the Internal Market Bill, Hendry was named by Deputy Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton after he removed the mace and attempted to leave the chamber with it. He was suspended from the House of Commons for the remainder of that day's sitting.[32][33]

In September 2023 Hendry was made the SNP's Economy Spokesperson, in preparation for the impending general election, in which the SNP leadership wanted to focus on the cost-of-living crisis, energy and economic growth.[34]

References

  1. ↑ "List of Members returned to Parliament at the General Election 2015 Scotland". The Edinburgh Gazette. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "HENDRY, Andrew Egan Henderson, (Drew)". Who's Who. Vol. 2023 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ↑ "Drew Hendry". politics.co.uk. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  4. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20230904130655/https://news.stv.tv/politics/stephen-flynn-unveils-reshuffle-of-snp-frontbench-team-at-westminster
  5. 1 2 3 Ross, Hugh (27 May 2012). "What makes new Highland Council leader tick?". Ross-shire Journal. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  6. ↑ Milne, Shaun (23 February 2015). "Interview: Drew Hendry, the man plotting Alexander's downfall". The National. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  7. ↑ @drewhendrySNP (18 April 2014). "My nephew Joe. The wrestling superstar, probably soon to be film star. "@joeshendry: New wrestling promo pic 1 "" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ @joeshendry (24 June 2016). "Drew Hendry.....Hendry's Uncle" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ "Local government elections: Election results 2007". Highland Council. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Dixon, Andy (9 May 2011). "SNP appoint new leader for Highland Council group". The Inverness Courier. Archived from the original on 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Briefing board". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "European election candidates: Scotland". BBC News. 2 June 2009.
  13. ↑ "European Election 2009: Scotland". BBC News. 8 June 2009.
  14. ↑ "Local government elections: Election results 2012". Highland Council. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  15. ↑ "'Living wage' pledge as Highland Council elects new leader". BBC News. BBC. 17 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Council leader Drew Hendry welcomes £120m broadband cash". John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  17. ↑ "Minority political parties form coalition to rule Highland Council". STV News. STV Group. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "SNP to lead Highland Council coalition". BBC News. BBC. 9 May 2012.
  19. ↑ "Independents dominate in Highlands and Islands". BBC News. 4 May 2012.
  20. ↑ Merrill, Jamie (17 February 2015). "General Election 2015: Will Danny Alexander lose his seat in May?". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "SNP group on Highland Council to begin leader process". BBC News. 11 May 2015.
  22. ↑ "Drew Hendry steps down as councillor to focus on MP role". Inverness Courier. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Highland Council leader plans to stand as MP". BBC News. 24 November 2014.
  24. ↑ "Highland Council leader to contest Danny Alexander's Inverness seat". BBC News. 20 January 2015.
  25. ↑ Carrell, Severin (30 April 2015). "Highland swing: Danny Alexander hopes local popularity will save his seat". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  26. ↑ Gordon, Tom (12 July 2015). "Danny and Douglas Alexander were biggest election spenders". The Sunday Herald. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  27. ↑ Merrill, Jamie (8 May 2015). "General Election 2015: Danny Alexander loses Inverness seat to SNP rival Drew Hendry". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  28. ↑ Stone, Jon (21 May 2015). "The SNP unveils the new MPs who will make up its Westminster frontbench team". The Independent. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  29. ↑ "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Constituency) 2017 results - General election results - UK Parliament".
  30. ↑ "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency - UK Parliamentary general election result". www.highland.gov.uk.
  31. ↑ "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry welcomes summer support for Highland students facing financial hardship". The Inverness Courier. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  32. ↑ "SNP MP Grabs the Mace".
  33. ↑ "Volume 686". Hansard. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  34. ↑ "SNP announces frontbench reshuffle at Westminster". BBC News. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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