James Hume Walter Miéville Stone (born 16 June 1954) is a
Scottish Liberal Democrat
The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...
politician, representing the constituency of
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, since 2017
the northernmost mainland British constituency and one of the largest by area.
He was a
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
(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.
He served as the
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Defence from 2019 to 2022 and has served as Spokesperson for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2020.
Early life and career
Stone went to school at
Tain
Tain ( Gaelic: ''Baile Dhubhthaich'') is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Etymology
The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The ...
and
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is locate ...
. While at school his parents founded Highland Fine Cheeses in 1967. He studied History and Geology at the
University of St Andrews
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
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.
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.
At the 2012 Local Government Elections, he returned to the Highland Council as councillor for the Tain and Easter Ross Ward.
Scottish Parliament
As an MSP, Stone was the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party spokesperson on Housing and the Deputy Party spokesman on Health. He participated in the UK television programme,
University Challenge
''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...
, as part of the Scottish Parliament's team. He stood down from the Scottish Parliament at the
2011 election.
![Jamie Stone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Jamie_Stone.jpg)
In 2016, he stood for election at the
2016 Scottish Parliament election
The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...
, for
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Gaelic: ''Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros'') is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first pa ...
which was largely his former seat after boundary changes were made in 2011. He finished in second place, and was not elected.
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.
On 16 June 2017, he was announced as the
Liberal Democrat
Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology.
Active parties
Former parties
See also
*Liberal democracy
*Lib ...
spokesman for Scotland. On 12 October 2017 he was transferred to the role of Armed Forces spokesman in a reshuffle.
![Official portrait of Jamie Stone crop 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Official_portrait_of_Jamie_Stone_crop_2.jpg)
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.
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
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
. Stone has also sponsored early day motions to investigate allegations of abuse by
G4S
G4S is a British Multinational corporation, multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a ran ...
on behalf of
UK Visas and Immigration
UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is a division of the Home Office responsible for the United Kingdom's visa system. It was formed in 2013 from the section of the UK Border Agency that had administered the visa system.
History
The then Home Secre ...
and has supported the rollout of free, early years childcare.
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". He was re-elected in the
2019 general election with 11,705 votes, but a reduced majority of 204.
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
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Highland Fine Cheeses*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Jamie
1954 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Scottish Liberal Democrat councillors
Liberal Democrat MSPs
Members of the Scottish Parliament 1999–2003
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2003–2007
Members of the Scottish Parliament 2007–2011
UK MPs 2017–2019
UK MPs 2019–present
Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies
People educated at Tain Royal Academy
People educated at Gordonstoun