Jamie Stone (politician)

James Hume Walter Miéville Stone (born 16 June 1954) is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician from a family of cheese makers, representing the constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, since 2017[1][2] the northernmost mainland British constituency and one of the largest by area.

Jamie Stone

MP
Stone in 2019
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Defence
Assumed office
21 August 2019
LeaderJo Swinson
Sir Ed Davey
Preceded byMenzies Campbell
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Assumed office
1 September 2020
LeaderSir Ed Davey
Preceded byDaisy Cooper
Member of Parliament
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Assumed office
8 June 2017
Preceded byPaul Monaghan
Majority204 (0.6%)
Councillor, The Highland Council
for Tain and Easter Ross
In office
3 May 2012 – 20 July 2017
Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
In office
6 May 1999 – 22 March 2011
Preceded byNew constituency
Succeeded byRob Gibson
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Scotland
In office
7 February 2019 – 6 January 2020
Serving with Willie Rennie
LeaderSir Vince Cable
Jo Swinson
Sir Ed Davey
Serving with Sal Brinton (2019–2020)
and Mark Pack (2020)
Preceded byChristine Jardine
Succeeded byWendy Chamberlain
In office
16 June 2017 – 12 October 2017
LeaderTim Farron
Sir Vince Cable
Preceded byWillie Rennie
Succeeded byChristine Jardine
Personal details
Born
James Hume Walter Miéville Stone

(1954-06-16) 16 June 1954
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Alma materUniversity of St Andrews
WebsiteOfficial Website

He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the constituency of Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross. He held the seat from the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, until he stood down in 2011.[3] He has served as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Defence since 2019 and as Spokesperson for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2020.

Early life and career

Stone went to school at Tain and Gordonstoun.[4] While at school his parents founded Highland Fine Cheeses in 1967.[5][6] He studied History and Geology at the University of St Andrews and graduated in 1977. Upon graduation, he worked in a variety of fields including fish gutting, on a building site, teaching English on the Italian island of Sicily and the oil industry.[7][8][9]

Councillor

Stone was first elected to Ross and Cromarty District Council in 1986, serving until its abolition in 1996. He served as a member of the Highland Council from its creation in 1995 until his election as MSP in 1999.[10]

At the 2012 Local Government Elections, he returned to the Highland Council as councillor for the Tain and Easter Ross Ward.[11]

Scottish Parliament

As an MSP, Stone was the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party spokesperson on Housing and the Deputy Party spokesman on Health.[12] He participated in the UK television programme, University Challenge, as part of the Scottish Parliament's team.[13] He stood down from the Scottish Parliament at the 2011 election.[3]

Stone as a Member of the Scottish Parliament


In 2016, he stood for election at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross which was largely his former seat after boundary changes were made in 2011. He finished in second place, and was not elected.[14]

House of Commons

Stone was elected as the Member of Parliament for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross at the 2017 general election, defeating the incumbent SNP MP Paul Monaghan by 2,044 votes.[2] On 16 June 2017, he was announced as the Liberal Democrat spokesman for Scotland.[15] On 12 October 2017 he was transferred to the role of Armed Forces spokesman in a reshuffle.[16]

Official parliamentary portrait, 2017

Stone had been re-elected for the Tain and Easter Ross Ward at the 2017 Local Government elections a month earlier. He resigned his seat on Highland Council after he was elected as an MP.[17]

Since his election, Stone has raised various local issues in the House of Commons such as the provision of healthcare facilities in the Scottish Highlands.[18] Stone has also sponsored early day motions to investigate allegations of abuse by G4S on behalf of UK Visas and Immigration and has supported the rollout of free, early years childcare.[19]

During the 2019 general election, Stone campaigned with the Liberal Democrats slogan 'Stop Brexit', saying “This General Election is our best chance to elect a government to stop Brexit".[20] He was re-elected in the 2019 general election with 11,705 votes, but a reduced majority of 204.[21]

Personal life

Stone is married with three children, one son and two daughters, both of whom also attended the University of St Andrews. He is also a keen gardener and an expert on edible fungi.[9]

References
  1. "Jamie Stone MP". UK Parliament.
  2. "Jamie Stone wins Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross". John O'Groat Journal. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. "Lib Dem MSP Jamie Stone to quit Holyrood at election". BBC News. 2 June 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. "Stone, James Hume Walter Miéville". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2018 (February 2018 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  5. "HIGHLAND FINE CHEESES LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. "Our Story". Highland Fine Cheeses. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. Razaq, Lindsay. "Meet the new MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross". Press and Journal. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Mr Jamie Stone MSP". Caithness.org. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. "Jamie Stone". Liberal Democrats. 24 May 2017.
  11. Ford, Laurence. "Ross shocks in Highland Council results". North Star. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  12. "Scottish Lib Dem front bench". BBC News. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  13. "The question is, could we get a team on University Challenge?". Northern Times. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  14. "Results Sheet Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Constituency". The Highland Council. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  15. "Liberal Democrats announce Shadow Cabinet". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  16. http://www.libdems.org.uk/ (12 October 2017). "New Liberal Democrat spokespeople". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  17. "Tain by-election dates announced". www.north-star-news.co.uk. 10 August 2017.
  18. "Pregnant Women In The Highlands Are Being Forced To Travel Hundreds Of Miles For Medical Care". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  19. "Early day motions by Member for 2017-19 - Stone, Jamie". UK Parliament. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  20. https://www.jamiestone.org.uk
  21. "Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross Parliamentary constituency". BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
Scottish Parliament
New constituency Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
1999–2011		 constituency abolished
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Paul Monaghan		 Member of Parliament
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
2017–present		 Incumbent


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