Kirstene Hair

Scottish Conservative politician

Kirstene Hair

Member of Parliament
for Angus
In office
8 June 2017 – 6 November 2019
Preceded by| Mike Weir
Succeeded by| Dave Doogan
Personal details
Born|  (1989-08-12) 12 August 1989 (age 35)[1]
Brechin, Angus, Scotland
Political party| Conservative
Alma mater| University of Aberdeen

Kirstene Janette Hair[2] (born 12 August 1989) is a former Scottish Conservative Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Angus between 2017 and 2019.

## Early life and career

[edit]

Hair was born on 12 August 1989 in Brechin, Angus, Scotland. She grew up in a large farming family based in Mains of Ardovie Farm. Hair has one younger brother and two older sisters. She was educated at Brechin High School where she was the head girl. Hair went on to study politics at the University of Aberdeen.[3]

Hair worked at the Scottish publishing company DC Thomson.[3] She stood as a Scottish Conservative Party candidate for Angus South at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, and was defeated by incumbent Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Graeme Dey.[4]

## Parliamentary career

[edit]

Hair was elected to the House of Commons in 2017, overturning a majority of 11,230 to unseat the Scottish National Party (SNP) chief whip, Mike Weir.[5] The constituency had been represented by an SNP MP since its creation in 1997.[6]

She was the first secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malawi[7]

In the UK Parliament, she was a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, Home Affairs Select Committee, and Women and Equalities Committee. She had been a member of the Regulatory Reform Committee since November 2017.[8]

Hair did not vote in the 2016 UK EU Membership referendum. In September 2017, she commented that she chose not to vote at the time as she could not decide on whether to support the UK leaving or remaining within the EU as she felt that there were strong arguments on both sides.[3][9] She voted for then-Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit withdrawal agreement in early 2019. In the indicative votes on 27 March, Hair voted against a referendum on a withdrawal agreement, against a customs union with the EU, and against single market membership.[10]

In January 2019, she was appointed as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Ministry of Justice.[11] In June, Hair became the PPS to David Mundell, Secretary of State for Scotland.[12] In October, she voted for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit withdrawal agreement.[13] In the December general election, Hair lost her seat to the SNP candidate, Dave Doogan.[14]

In September 2020, she became an advisor to the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross.[15] Kirstene Hair now runs Empower Coaching, a firm which encourages organisations and businesses to support women into securing senior roles.[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Members' Names Data Platform query". parliament.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
2. ^ "No. 27885". The Edinburgh Gazette. 19 June 2017. p. 1076.
3. ^ a b c Alexander, Michael (22 September 2017). "Newly elected Angus MP Kirstene Hair reveals why she did not vote in Brexit referendum". The Courier. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
4. ^ Hamilton, Lindsey (6 May 2016). "Election 2016: SNP hold both Angus seats". Evening Telegraph. Dundee. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
5. ^ Strachan, Graeme (9 June 2017). "Kirstene Hair sensationally topples Mike Weir to win Angus seat". The Courier. Dundee. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
6. ^ "Who are Scotland's new MPs?". BBC News. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
7. ^ "UK Parliament establishes Malawi All-Party Group". www.scotland-malawipartnership.org. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
8. ^ "Kirstene Hair MP". parliament.uk.
9. ^ "Scottish Tory MP set to appear on BBC Question Time in Glasgow did not vote in EU referendum". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
10. ^ "How MPs voted on May's withdrawal deal defeat". Financial Times. 29 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019.
11. ^ Maguire, Patrick (11 January 2019). "Scottish Tory MPs are the big winners from a quiet round of government promotions". New Statesman. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
12. ^ "Parliamentary Private Secretaries June 2019" (PDF). gov.uk. p. 4. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
13. ^ Buchan, Lizzy (22 October 2019). "How your MP voted for Boris Johnson's Brexit deal". The Independent. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
14. ^ Meiklem, Peter John (13 December 2019). "Angus: SNP's Dave Doogan says area has rejected 'hollow rhetoric of division and privilege' as he beats Tory Kirstene Hair". The Courier. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
15. ^ Dingwall, Blair (September 2020). "Former Angus MP Kirstene Hair back in politics as part of Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross' team". The Courier. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
16. ^ "Women still find 'glass ceiling' when it comes to high school head teacher posts in Scotland". 21 May 2023.

## External links

[edit]

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

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

Mike Weir

|  Member of Parliament for Angus
2017–2019  | Succeeded by

Dave Doogan

Authority control databases: People |

* UK Parliament

|