Brendan O’Hara

Brendan O’Hara is a Member of Parliament (MP) from the constituency of Argyll and Bute. He is a member of Scottish National Party (SNP). The constituency was created in 1983 and it has been won by various parties since then. Initially, it was with the Conservatives. From 1987, the Argyll and Bute constituency became a stronghold of Liberal Democrats. Things changed again in 2015 when SNP won the constituency.

One of the key identifiers for SNP is the party’s demand for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. A number of campaigns are being run by the party in this regard. SNP also supports the view that Scotland should become a member of European Union. In Scotland, SNP is the largest political party. It comes third in UK, behind only Labour Party and Conservative Party. In Scottish Parliament, SNP has won 45 out of 59 seats.

In 2015 general election in Argyll and Bute, SNP candidate Brendan O’Hara defeated his nearest rival Alan Reid of Liberal Democrats by a margin of more than 8k votes. He received 44.3 percent of the votes cast whereas his nearest rival got 27.9%.

The next election in 2017 was relatively tough, as the win margin reduced significantly. Brendan O’Hara defeated his nearest rival Gary Mulvaney of Conservative Party by just over 1,300 votes. His vote share was 36%, whereas his nearest rival got 33.2%.

Things improved in 2019, when Brendan O’Hara increased his vote share to 43.8 percent. His nearest rival got 35.2 percent. Brendan won by a margin of more than 4k votes. Political analysts opine that SNP is likely to win the next general election from Argyll and Bute.

Early life, education and career

Brendan O’Hara was born in Glasgow, Scotland on April 27, 1963. He received education from St. Andrew’s Secondary and later joined Strathclyde University. He has completed his graduation in Economic History and Modern History.

Prior to entering the world of politics, Brendan was a successful TV producer. His documentary series ‘Road To Referendum’ was aired on STV in 2013. This series had received wide appreciation and was also nominated for a BAFTA Scotland award. The nomination was under Current Affairs category.

In his professional career, Brendan has also worked with Sky Sports and BBC. He has been associated with various projects such as Scotland’s Greatest Album, The Football Years and Comedy Connections and Movie Connections.

Political career

Brendan O’Hara had to work hard and show a lot of patience before he made his mark in politics. He had contested from Glasgow Springburn constituency in 1987 and Glasgow Central in 1992 UK general election. However, he had to face defeat in both these elections. It was several years later in 2015 that he emerged victorious.

Personal pursuits

Brendan O’Hara remains committed to the welfare of people in his constituency.