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Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat politician)

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Not to be confused with Angus MacDonald (SNP politician).
Angus MacDonald
OBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Member of Parliament
for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 July 2024
Preceded byConstituency created
Majority2,160 (4.5%)
Member of Highland Council
for Fort William and Ardnamurchan
In office
May 2022 – September 2024
Personal details
Born
Angus Francis MacDonald

(1962-11-07) 7 November 1962 (age 62)
London, UK
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Children4
EducationAmpleforth College
Edinburgh Academy
Alma materRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst

Angus Francis MacDonald[1] is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire since 2024.

Early life

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Angus Francis MacDonald was born on the 7th of November, 1962 in London. Son of Donald ‘Rory’ MacDonald, descendant of distiller 'Long John' MacDonald, and Nancy MacDonald (nee Hill, of Philadelphia). The second of five children, he was brought up in the Clachaig Inn, Glencoe.

He was privately educated at two schools; Ampleforth College and Edinburgh Academy.[2]

After school, MacDonald attend RMA Sandhurst before joining the Queen's Own Highlanders as a Second Lieutenant. He served in Falklands immediately after the ceasefire, from July – December 1982, where the regiment led the operation to restore normality on the islands, and in Northern Ireland the following year.[3]

Career

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Business career

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MacDonald left the army in 1983 and after a few years at stockbrokers Laing & Cruickshank, ran a number of publishing businesses in the financial services sector, including Edinburgh Financial Publishing, Financial News and eFinancialCareers, the latter two of which he and his co-investors sold in 2007 to a consortium including Dow Jones for £79 million.[4] MacDonald later expanded his business interests to encompass renewable energy, online education and waste management.[5][6][7]

Political career

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MacDonald was elected as a councillor to Highland Council, representing Fort William and Ardnamurchan in the 2022 Highland Council election, with 37.5% of the vote.[8][9]

He had previously been a Conservative Party donor, giving £40,000 to the party when the Scottish Conservatives were under the leadership of Ruth Davidson.[10][11][12]

MacDonald's seat, Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, was the final constituency to declare its results in the 2024 general election due to a discrepancy. The result was declared on 6 July.[13][14][15][10][16][17]

Political positions

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MacDonald describes himself as centre-left on social issues and centre-right on economic issues.[18]

Other activities

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MacDonald has been a patron of the National Trust for Scotland since 2009, serving on the strategic review panel in 2010 under Lord George Reid, before serving as Vice-President for almost a decade.

It was while running Edinburgh Financial Publishing in Hong Kong in the early 1990s that MacDonald took part in a 100km race along the famous MacLehose Trail. Taking this idea he founded the Caledonian Challenge in 1997 with a friend, Alex Blyth, to raise money for Foundation Scotland. More than 17,000 people took part in the 52 mile race down the Scottish West Highland Way and together raised over £13 million for Scottish communities.[19] MacDonald competed in the event eight times himself, though never managed to beat the time of his wife, athlete Michie MacDonald.

In addition to his charitable and business pursuits, MacDonald been involved with various social enterprises and non-profit endeavours to foster Highland traditions, culture and entrepreneurialism in Lochaber, most notably the Highland Cinema, an independent cinema in Fort William which was voted "Cinema of the year under 24 screens" in 2023,[20][21] and Dragon's Glen, an annual competition inspired by the Dragons Den TV show that awarded £10,000 grants to aspiring local businesses.[22][23][24]

In 2014, MacDonald was awarded an OBE for services to the Highlands.[25]

Personal life

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MacDonald is a practising Christian. He is married to his wife Michie MacDonald, from Ireland, and both live in Fort William which is within his constituency. Together have four adult sons.[26]

References

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  1. ^ "Members Sworn". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 752. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.highlandlibdems.org.uk/angus-macdonald-candidate/about-angus
  3. ^ https://www.forcesnews.com/services/tri-service/veterans-and-reservists-among-mps-winning-seat-general-election
  4. ^ "Scots businessman wins UK entrepreneur of the year title". 9 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Angus MacDonald: 'I would hate to ever retire. At 85, I still want to be doing this'". The Independent.
  6. ^ "Lochaber 'serial entrepreneur with a conscience' receives knighthood from the pope". 29 June 2021.
  7. ^ Donald, Colin (8 May 2018). "Exclusive: £30m payday for investors in Scots online education specialist". businessInsider. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  8. ^ "2022 Local Government elections results". The Highland Council. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  9. ^ "'All we got was delayed Calmac ferries': Businessman vows to fight for Highlands". The Herald. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Scottish LibDem candidate donated £25,000 to Boris Johnson's Tories". 23 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Ed Davey defends Scottish Lib Dem candidate who gave Tories more than £40,000". The Herald. 28 May 2024.
  12. ^ https://www.thenational.scot/news/24464272.scottish-libdem-mp-faces-loyalties-questions-conservative-hire/
  13. ^ "Votes 'discrepancy' delays Highland result until Saturday". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Liberal Democrat is privately acknowledged to have been the likely winner of Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire". Inverness Courier. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  15. ^ Lawson, Alex (10 June 2023). "Winston Churchill's grandson donated nearly £5,000 to Liberal Democrats". The Guardian.
  16. ^ "SNP concedes defeat in last UK seat to declare result". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Recount begins for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire". BBC News. 6 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Angus MacDonald Westminster Candidate, Story - Highland Liberal Democrats". 1 August 2024.
  19. ^ "History". www.caledonianchallenge.com. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Angus MacDonald Westminster Candidate, Story - Highland Liberal Democrats". www.highlandlibdems.org.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Big Screen Awards - 2023 Winners".
  22. ^ "My shocking struggle to breathe fire into our entrepreneurs of the future". www.thetimes.com. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  23. ^ Restan, Sue (9 September 2016). "Would-be businessmen and women are invited to enter the "Dragons' Glen"". Press and Journal. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  24. ^ "» Dragons' Glen". www.lochaberchamber.co.uk. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Angus MacDonald Westminster Candidate, Story - Highland Liberal Democrats". www.highlandlibdems.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Who is Angus MacDonald Profile of Wester Ross's new MP in his own words". Ross-shire Journal. 6 July 2024.
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