, 21 December 2016 Bowman returned to the United Kingdom later in 2013, settling in
Fife. Bowman captured 7,206 ballots, 15% of the total cast, a small reduction of 0.2% compared with the previous Conservative's vote share. In a contemporary interview with the
Financial Times, citing the predicted success of the SNP, Bowman stated: "A lot of people I know are very concerned about the move to the
left. The SNP is trying to out-Labour Labour, and Labour is trying to out-Labour itself". A month later, in June 2015, he was selected to fight the equivalent
Scottish Parliament constituency of
Dundee City East for the
Scottish Conservatives. His campaign predominantly advertised job creation, investment in public amenities and a commitment to advocate for the decentralisation of
Police Scotland. As of September 2018, he is a permanent resident of the city. Upon the death of Conservative MSP
Alex Johnstone in December 2016, Bowman was selected to replace him as a representative for
North East Scotland, having been positioned next on the
regional list. He was sworn in as an MSP on 21 December by taking his
Oath of Allegiance in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament. Having joined the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee, Bowman soon came under scrutiny by opposition politicians for selling nearly £30,000 worth of British American Tobacco shares on 12 January 2017, with Labour speculating whether he had done so on Scottish Conservatives leader
Ruth Davidson's recommendation, perhaps in order to avoid public concern over vested interests. Retorting, the Conservative group highlighted that "[Bowman] has declared his shareholdings openly and in line with procedure, as have many other MSPs." He also paid tribute to his late wife, Helen, who died in October 2020 at the age of 70. Members of opposition parties congratulated his service; among them was
Willie Rennie,
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, who observed that "he knows he can retire from this place knowing he did his bit for his country". In this capacity, a parliamentary question tabled by Bowman to the
Scottish Government in June 2018 first revealed that
national business rates were taxing firms £200m more than those operating under
English regulations. Bowman is also a constituent of the Cross-Party parliamentary groups on Building Bridges with Israel, Culture, and Scotch Whisky, further serving as Deputy Chair of the
Scottish Commission for Public Audit. ==Electoral history==