Angus MacDonald is the Liberal Democrat MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, MacDonald won 18,159 votes, representing 37.8% of the vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Drew Hendry, received 15,999 votes (33.3%), while the Labour candidate, Michael Perera, secured 6,246 votes (13.0%). MacDonald was duly elected with a majority of 2,160.

The Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency was newly ahead of the 2024 election, formed from parts of the former Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency and the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency.

The seat was the last to declare a result in the 2024 general election following at least three recounts. MacDonald was present at the constituency count in full highland dress as he became the Liberal Democrats’ 72nd MP.

MacDonald increased the Liberal Democrat vote by a notional 22 points. His victory was widely celebrated by the party as a triumphant return to form in territory once occupied by former leader Charles Kennedy.

Political Career

MacDonald is a member of the House of Commons Scottish affairs select committee (since October 2024) – the committee responsible for scrutinising the expenditure, administration and policies of the Scotland Office and its associated bodies. The committee also examines the wider UK government, assessing policies and legislation that are relevant to Scotland.

In October 2025, MacDonald secured an urgent question to challenge the Home Office over its decision to repurpose Ministry of Defence barracks to accommodate asylum seekers. He strongly objected to the policy, which involved utilising Cameron barracks in Inverness. MacDonald was based at the barracks during his service in the army.

He told the House: “I got a call yesterday at 7.10 in the morning from the BBC, who asked, ‘What is your comment on the Cameron barracks being taken over and used to house migrants?’ I know that place well, because I was based there when I was in the army.

“It is residential – it is surrounded by housing that is very close by – and what is more, it is only 10 minutes from Inverness city centre.”

He asked: “Why is it okay to close town centre migrant hotels in the south of England, yet plan to house 300 migrant men in army quarters in Inverness city centre? It is effectively the same thing.”

The Home Office minister on duty, Alex Norris, said he was “sorry that he heard in the way he did”.

In November 2025, MacDonald apologised for using the term “coloured people” during an exchange concerning the government’s plans to house asylum seekers in military barracks.

After MacDonald was challenged by a Labour councillor, MacDonald told Channel 4 News: “I don’t think there’s any racism at all in this. The Highlands has not got very many coloured people, and I think a lot of them arriving at once will probably upset a lot of people because there is a lot of concern in the area.”

MacDonald subsequently apologised for his “insensitive and inappropriate remarks”.

MacDonald is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for British offshore energy industry and shooting and conservation.

MacDonald delivered his maiden speech on 5 September 2024 during a debate on the Great British Energy Bill.

In it, he said: “Would it not be wonderful if a fairy godmother came along and bestowed a wonderful asset on the highlands – something that generated serious money for the area over generations, and a long-term provider of great employment?

“There is such an asset. The west highlands is the wettest area in Europe, and the wind is virtually unceasing. We have the most fantastic land to benefit from the move to renewables.”

He added: “There is considerable disadvantage to the people of rural Britain in taking on the downsides of hosting our move from a carbon-based economy to a renewable electric alternative. It is only fair that we make it beneficial to the people affected.”

Before entering parliament, MacDonald was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor on the Highland Council in 2022. He stepped down from this role in 2024.

Political Views

The Liberal Democrats (or Lib Dems) are a liberal political party, occupying the centre to centre-left ground in British politics.

The preamble to the Lib Dem constitution begins: “The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.”

MacDonald describes himself as “left of centre socially and right of centre economically.”

In June 2024, MacDonald said he was “not supportive of the LibDem policy on trans issues. They know my opinions and respect them.”

MacDonald is listed as a supporter of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections – a cross-party group of MPs and peers that campaigns for electoral reform. The group’s stated aims include replacing the first past the post (FPTP) voting system with a form of proportional representation, eliminating “dark money” and “undemocratic influence” from politics, and countering disinformation.

In December 2024, MacDonald voted in favour of the Elections (Proportional Representation) Bill – introduced by Liberal Democrat frontbencher Sarah Olney under the 10-minute rule procedure. The bill sought to “introduce a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections and for local government elections in England”.

A total of 138 MPs supported the bill – with 136 opposed. Notably, 59 Labour MPs backed Olney’s bill.

Introducing the bill, Olney told the House: “First past the post is a broken and unfair system. This summer, the Labour party won a landslide election victory, securing 63% of seats in the House of Commons in return for just 34% of the vote.

“The system leaves millions of voices unheard and creates a divisive, adversarial political climate where collaboration is discouraged and accountability is often sidestepped.”

Assisted dying

MacDonald voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

MacDonald was one of 15 Liberal Democrats to vote against the assisted dying bill at third reading.

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): MacDonald voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

MacDonald was one of two Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the amendment, alongside Tim Farron.

Before Politics

Born in London on 7 November 1962, MacDonald was brought up at the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe, which his father owned. His grandfather was a farmer and convenor of the Highland Council.

He attended Ampleforth College and Edinburgh Academy.

After training at Sandhurst, MacDonald served as a second lieutenant in the Queen’s Own Highlanders, stationed in the Falklands and Northern Ireland.

After leaving the army in 1983, he worked briefly for stockbrokers Laing & Cruickshank before embarking on a career as an entrepreneur.

MacDonald ran several businesses, including Edinburgh Financial Publishing, Financial News, and eFinancialCareers, selling these successfully. He was named UK entrepreneur of the year in 2017.

MacDonald is the author of a series of historical novels set in the Highlands.

He founded the Caledonian Challenge endurance walk in 1997, which raised £14 million for Scottish charities over 20 years, and the Moidart Trust, which supports small businesses and culture in the West Highlands. He is a former vice president of the National Trust for Scotland.

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

Personal Life

MacDonald is married to Michie, who is from Ireland. They live near Arisaig and have four adult sons.

MacDonald is a Christian.

Trivia

MacDonald reportedly donated more than £40,000 to the Conservatives before entering frontline politics as a Liberal Democrat politician.

Rupert Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, donated nearly £5,000 to MacDonald in the lead up to the 2024 election. Soames said he had known MacDonald for 25 years and the pair were “almost neighbours”.

In 1996, MacDonald ran the London Marathon dressed in a kilt, completing the course in around 5 hours.