Harriet Cross

Cross was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire and grew up in West Cork, Ireland where her mother was from. She attended Bandon Grammar School in Bandon, County Cork before the family moved to Aberdeenshire owing to her father's work, when she was sixteen.^[4][5] She studied zoology at Imperial College London before earning a master's degree in Rural Land and Business Management and from the University of Reading.^[5][6] In 2018, she returned to Aberdeenshire to work as a rural surveyor.^[7]

Cross stood as the Conservative candidate for Aberdeen Donside at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, finishing second to Jackie Dunbar with 9,488 votes (26.42%).^[2] She was also ninth on the party list for the North East Scotland region.^[8]

Cross was elected as the MP for the newly created merged seat of Gordon and Buchan at the 2024 UK general election with a narrow majority of 878 votes. The result was the worst defeat nationwide for the Conservative Party in the history of the UK, eclipsing the 1906 and 1997 landslide defeats for Conservative governments. Prior to 2024, the Banff and Buchan seat was held by the Scottish Conservatives and the Gordon seat held by the SNP.^[9] In the 2024 UK Conservative party leadership election she backed Tom Tugendhat.^[10]

In September 2024, Cross criticised the Bank of Scotland's proposal to close its Ellon branch, leaving the area without a single bank branch. Despite her opposition to the decision, alongside several members of the community, the sole remaining bank branch in the town permanently closed down on 10 September 2024.^[11]

Cross was appointed an Opposition Assistant Whip in November 2024.^[12]