Harriet Cross is the Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Cross received 14,418 votes (32.9%). The Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Richard Thomson, received 13,540 votes (30.9%), while the Liberal Democrat candidate, Conrad Wood, secured 7,307 votes (16.7%). Cross was duly elected with a majority of 878.

The Gordon and Buchan constituency is located in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was newly created ahead of the 2024 general election, formed from the former Gordon and Banff and Buchan constituencies.

Cross is one of five Scottish Conservative MPs, and one of just 26 new Conservative MPs elected in 2024.

Alongside John Cooper, she was one of two new Conservative MPs elected in Scotland in 2024.

Political Career

Cross currently serves as shadow secretary of state for Scotland. She was appointed to this role as part of the August/September 2026 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Kemi Badenoch’s second as Conservative leader. She is also a member of the shadow energy security team.

Cross served as an opposition assistant whip on the Conservative frontbench from November 2024 to August 2026.

Cross has sat as a member of the House of Commons Scottish affairs select committee (2024-2026).

Cross has been listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for marine energy and wood panel industry.

Cross delivered her maiden speech on 19 July 2024 in a debate on planning, the green belt and rural affairs.

In it, she said: “Those of us who are blessed to live north of the Watford gap know that there is a direct correlation between how far north you get and being approachable and determined, having a dry sense of humour and being great company. As such, I am also delighted to say that I am the Conservative member with the most northerly constituency.”

She added: “Before being elected, I worked as a rural surveyor, meeting farmers across Aberdeenshire, many of whom I am now proud to call my constituents.

“As intimidating as it might be being on the opposition side looking across at the government benches, that is nothing compared with sitting at a farmhouse table trying to tell farming clients that no, their farm is not worth three times what they think it is worth or that their worse-for-wear heifer will not get top figures at next week’s sale.”

Cross previously stood unsuccessfully as the Scottish Conservative candidate for Aberdeen Donside in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Political views

Leadership elections

Tory leadership 2024: Cross supported Tom Tugendhat’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election. Tugendhat, the then-shadow security minister, was eliminated in the third parliamentary ballot on 8 October 2024 after receiving 20 votes.

Factional identity and party tradition

Conservative Environment Network: Cross is listed as a member of the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) parliamentary caucus. CEN is an independent forum for conservatives that supports conservation and decarbonisation. It calls for the environment to be given a higher profile at the heart of policy making, describing “biodiversity loss, climate change, and wasteful resource use are threats to our national security”, and promotes “market-based policies” to environmental challenges. Members of its parliamentary caucus, such as …, are thought to generally align with the group’s “green” message and environmentalism.

Brexit and Europe

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Cross voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Cross voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Cross voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Before Politics

Harriet Iona Cross was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, she grew up in the 1990s.

Cross spent some of her children in West Cork, Ireland, but later settled in Aberdeenshire. Her father ran the community pharmacy in Braemar, Aberdeenshire.

Cross attended Bandon Grammar School in Ireland. She later studied zoology at Imperial College London and holds a master’s degree in rural land and business management from the University of Reading.

Before entering parliament, she worked as a chartered rural surveyor across Aberdeenshire and the Highlands.

Personal Life

Cross lives in Aberdeenshire with her partner.

Trivia

Cross is a keen runner. In 2023, she won a 50km (31 mile) ultra-marathon.