John Cooper.

A notably active Scottish Conservative, John Cooper has spent recent months using Parliament to challenge both the SNP and the UK Government. In March 2026 he introduced a Ten-Minute Rule Bill over what he described as SNP mismanagement threatening the integrity of Scots Law; in April he publicly attacked the Government's Brexit approach as a "betrayal" over EU rule alignment. He has also pressed Treasury ministers on the family farm inheritance tax, citing direct impacts on Dumfries and Galloway constituents. His one rebel vote came in November 2024, when he backed a Conservative amendment — opposed by his own leadership — to remove Church of England bishops from the Lords as part of the hereditary peers bill.

At 72% voting participation — slightly below the Commons average — Cooper is a regular but not dominant presence in the division lobbies. He votes with the Conservatives on 99.8% of votes, making him a near-perfect party-line MP. His speeches cluster heavily around the economy and jobs (126 contributions), defence (72), and energy (30), consistent with a rural Scottish seat with farming and energy interests. He scores 100% on pro-business and anti-tax-increase votes, and 88% on parliamentary scrutiny — but sits below his party average on criminal justice reform and assisted dying access.

His two committee roles — on the Business and Trade Committee and its Economic Security and Arms Export Controls sub-committee — point to a defence and trade specialism that shapes his debate activity. Recent local news coverage (nine articles in the past 90 days) clusters around environment, heritage, and economic issues, though sentiment scores are neutral rather than strongly positive or negative. Voting data runs to mid-July 2026; speech records are complete to the same date.