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Steven BonnarMP
Bonnar in 2019
Member of Parliament for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 December 2019
Preceded by	Hugh Gaffney
Majority	5,624 (11.6%)
Personal details
Political party	Scottish National Party

Steven Bonnar is Scottish National Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill since 2019.

Bonnar served as an SNP councillor in the Thorniewood ward of North Lanarkshire from 2015 to 2020. He defeated the incumbent Labour candidate Hugh Gaffney in the 2019 General Election. He resigned from his councillor role a few months later, stating he wanted to concentrate on his role as a Member of Parliament and allow for a byelection to be called and so that the constituency could have a fully committed councillor, as he see's the role as full time.

Early life

Bonnar grew up in working class surroundings between Fallside and Viewpark in North Lanarkshire and the Republic of Ireland. Despite previously holding no political inclinations, he campaigned for Scottish independence during the 2014 referendum, when he was active in Viewpark and Glasgow.

Political career

Following the independence referendum, Bonnar decided to run for councillor in his local ward of Thorniewood; consisting of several mining villages north of Uddingston. The previous SNP councillor, Duncan McShannon, had become very ill and had to vacate the seat after several months of sickness. On 9 July 2015, Bonnar won the by-election and was duly elected to serve as councillor for Thorniewood ward for North Lanarkshire Council. On 4 May 2017, Bonnar was again elected. As a councillor, he served his time holding more surgeries than any other councillor as well as being extremely active on social media and attending as many meetings, hearings and committees as he could. He has helped a great many people in his community and is well thought of by the majority of his community. Bonnar was well liked by many, across the chamber, was outspoken, vocal and wasn't afraid to talk about any subject which arose.

Bonnar began his career at North Lanarkshire council, when he was elected to one of the 3 seats in Thorniewood during the 2017 North Lanarkshire Council election. During his time as a councillor, Bonnar defended former SNP councillor Julie McAnulty in a successful defamation case in 2018, after she had been falsely accused by a party activist of making racist comments in a car trip with Bonnar. McAnulty was awarded £40,000 in damages.

Bonnar stood for election for the Scottish National Party to become MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill during the 2019 general election. He became the third different MP in just over four years to represent the constituency, taking the seat from incumbent Labour MP, Hugh Gaffney. Bonnar secured his seat as an MP after receiving 22,680 votes, with a majority of 5,624, after Gaffney received 17,056 votes. The seat was one of six in Scotland gained from Labour by the SNP during the election. When swearing in to the House of Commons, he crossed his fingers to protest having to affirm allegiance to the monarchy.

In February 2020, Bonnar made the decision to step down from his councillor role at North Lanarkshire council, to concentrate on his role as an MP and to allow a byelection to be called in Thorniewood in May 2020, however, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, at the time of writing, this has been postponed. As an MP, his term, as all other MPs, has been hindered by the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

In April 2020, a video emerged on a Rangers fans Facebook group of Bonnar arguing with one of his neighbours. Bonnar had hung a Celtic flag across one of his windows while decorating during the COVID-19 pandemic and was confronted by a neighbour about the flag. In the video, the neighbour asked Bonnar, "What's that about in your window...the Celtic flag?...is there any need?...you're supposed to be a councillor." Bonnar responded angrily to the comment, saying: "What about it? I’m not a councillor. I’m a MP. Aye, it’s needed. What’s it got to do with you? It’s my house." The neighbour then called Bonnar a "mug", to which Bonnar reacted "Anytime you fucking want". Scotland was under lockdown due to the pandemic, with Bonnar stopping a few metres away from his neighbour, which seemed to stop any further escalation. Bonnar later argued he was decorating and it was to cover the window for a short period of time and he was "drawn into" the confrontation. He offered an official apology:

I regret being drawn into a dispute with a neighbour and reacting hastily to comments made.

In May 2020, Police Scotland made further inquiries into the incident between Bonnar and his neighbour. On 14 May, they were both charged in connection with a street disturbance. A statement from Police Scotland stated it would be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Personal life

Bonnar lives in Viewpark, North Lanarkshire with his daughter. He is regularly involved in local charity work and has organised several 'litter picks' in the area, since before he was elected in 2015 to North Lanarkshire Council.

References

1. Whitaker, Andrew (10 July 2015). "SNP wins North Lanarkshire by-election". The Scotsman. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
2. "General Election 2019: Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
3. "2015 By Election Thorniewood".
4. "2017 Council Elections".
5. ^ Blackstock, Gordon (18 April 2020). "SNP's Steven Bonnar in Celtic flag street bust-up". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
6. Tonner, Judith. "Election results: Coatbridge won by SNP's Steven Bonnar while Neil Gray retains Airdrie". Daily Record (Scotland).
7. Tonner, Judith. "Election results: Coatbridge won by SNP's Steven Bonnar while Neil Gray retains Airdrie". Daily Record (Scotland).
8. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar crosses fingers during swearing in ceremony". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
9. "Councillor MP steps down to allow byelection".
10. "Covid-19: 12 May 2020: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
11. Jarvis, Jacob (19 April 2020). "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises after row over football flag in his window". Evening Standard.
12. Cochrane, Angus. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises after row with neighbour over Celtic flag". The National (Scotland).
13. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar apologises over altercation with neighbour". Scotland Herald. 19 April 2020.
14. James, Liam. "SNP MP apologises after threatening to fight neighbour 'any f****** time' in row over Celtic flag". The Independent.
15. "Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: Health Secretary's statement 19 April 2020". Scottish government.
16. "MP Steven Bonnar apologises over Celtic flag argument with neighbour". BBC. 19 April 2020.
17. "SNP MP Steven Bonnar charged over alleged street disturbance". BBC. 14 May 2020.

External links

• profile on SNP website
• Steven Bonnar on Twitter

• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

• Living people
• Scottish National Party MPs
• UK MPs 2019–
• Scottish National Party councillors
• Scottish National Party politicians