Jamie Halcro Johnston (born 8 October 1975) is a British politician who is a

Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

(MSP) for the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

region since 2017. A member of the

Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons, 30 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Par ...

, he also serves as their Shadow Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise.

Background

Halcro Johnston was brought up at his family home in Orphir in

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

. His father, Hugh Halcro Johnston, previously served as

Convener The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

Orkney Islands Council The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for the Orkney Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local governme ...

. His great-great uncle is Henry Halcro Johnston, a botanist, British Army Officer and Scotland rugby union international. Educated at Radley College, Halcro Johnston studied at

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

and the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, where he received a BA (Hons) in Ancient History. He was previously employed by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' in London and, between 2003 and 2007, he worked as an adviser to a number of Scottish Conservative MSPs, before moving to a position at ''Holyrood'' magazine.

Political career

Halcro Johnston stood for election to the Scottish Parliament in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber in 2007 and then the Orkney constituency in 2011 and 2016. He also stood for UK Parliament in the

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

constituency in 2005 and the Orkney and Shetland seat in 2017.

In the Scottish Parliament

Following the resignation of Douglas Ross to take up a position as a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

after his election in the 2017 general election, Halcro Johnston became a Member of the Scottish Parliament on the Highlands and Islands regional list on 20 June 2017; with the party having gained 44,693 votes in the region at the 2016 election. After entering the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, he was appointed by party leader Ruth Davidson as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Shadow Minister for Jobs, Employability and Training. He served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, being appointed by leader Douglas Ross in 2020. In the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

, Halcro Johnston stood in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency, finishing in second place. He was re-elected on the Highlands and Islands regional list with the Scottish Conservatives increasing their number of MSPs in the region from three to four.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Halcro Johnston, Jamie 1975 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Orkney People educated at Radley College Conservative MSPs Members of the Scottish Parliament 2016–2021 Members of the Scottish Parliament 2021–2026 Alumni of the University of Exeter