Ryan Houghton left school at 17, serving in the Royal Air Force for 7 years. During his time in the Armed Forces Ryan worked on XV(R) and 12(B) Tornado GR4 Squadrons at RAF Lossiemouth and after a tour in Afghanistan Ryan moved to RAF Odiham working in support of the Chinook helicopter fleet.

After his time in the RAF, he began an undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with 1st class honours in 2019. Ryan’s dissertation focused on constitutional reform in the UK after Brexit and featured an interview with former Lord Chancellor and Attorney General Baron Falconer.

During his studies, Ryan got elected to Aberdeen City Council for the inner-city ward of George St. & Harbour. Ryan was the first Scottish Conservative to be elected to this area. In 2022 Ryan was elected to represent the Airyhall, Broomhill and Garthdee ward.