Jamie Stone is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, having first been elected to parliament at the 2017 general election.  

In the 2024 general election, Stone received 22,736 votes, representing 49.4% of the vote share. The Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Lucy Beattie, received 12,247 votes (26.6%), while the Labour candidate, Eva Kestner, secured 3,409 votes (7.4%). Stone was duly re-elected with a majority of 10,489 votes.

The Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency covers the far north of mainland Scotland within the Highland council area. It is the largest constituency by land area in the UK and is predominantly rural, including towns such as Thurso, Wick, Tain and Alness.

Historically a Liberal Democrat stronghold, the seat was held by the SNP from 2015 to 2017 before Stone regained it for the Liberal Democrats. His majority in the 2019 election was very narrow (204 votes) but increased substantially in 2024. The constituency boundaries were significantly enlarged for the 2024 election, adding areas including the Black Isle and Dingwall.

Political Career

Stone currently chairs the House of Commons petitions committee (since September 2024) – the committee responsible for considering e-petitions submitted on parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the commons.

By virtue of this role, Stone sits on the liaison committee – the so-called “super committee” composed of the cross-party chairs of all the other commons select committees. It has a broad oversight role, but is best known for its questioning of the prime minister in sessions that take place two or three times a year.

Stone was the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for defence and Scotland from July to September 2024 on the interim/caretaker frontbench constructed by Ed Davey after the general election of that year.

Prior to the 2024 general election, Stone served as a Liberal Democrat spokesperson for digital, culture, media and sport (2020-2024), defence (2017-2022), and Scotland (2017 and 2019-2020).

Stone sat on the House of Commons Scottish affairs committee from October to November 2019.

Stone delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 6 July 2017.

In it, he said: “Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is the second largest and most remote constituency on the UK mainland. For that reason it presents special challenges to the Scottish and UK governments.

“Sparsity of population, distance and severe winter weather all necessitate taking a different approach to the delivery of vital services. What works in Surrey or Glasgow is not necessarily going to work at all where I come from.”

He added: “Lack of access to suitably fast broadband is proving to be a drag anchor to many local businesses in my constituency. That is particularly unfortunate when we are trying to promote tourism in this most beautiful area. The importance of operating efficiently online cannot be over-exaggerated. If local tourist businesses are to compete in a global market, they depend on that type of service.”

Before entering Westminster, Stone served as the member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the equivalent constituency (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) from the parliament’s inception in 1999 until he stood down in 2011.  

Prior to Holyrood, Stone was a local councillor, first elected to Ross and Cromarty District Council in 1986 until its abolition in 1996. He then served on the Highland Council from 1995 to 1999, and again from 2012 until 2017.  

Political Views

Stone 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).

Fair elections APPG: Stone is listed as a member 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.

Brexit referendum: Stone supported Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore disagreed with a majority of his constituents, 51.3% of whom voted to Leave.

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Stone voted in favour of 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.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Stone was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Stone voted for a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the king’s speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. Labour had tabled a rival motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict.

Covid passes campaign (2021): Stone was one of over 70 MPs and peers who launched a cross-party campaign against the “divisive and discriminatory use” of Covid passes in April 2021. The campaign was triggered by government reviews into “vaccine passports”, which signatories argued would create a two-tier society and infringe upon fundamental civil liberties.

Before Politics

James Hume Walter Miéville Stone was born in Edinburgh on 16 June 1954, he attended Tain Royal Academy before being educated at Gordonstoun School.

His parents founded the Highland Fine Cheeses company in Tain in 1967.  

He studied history and geology at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1977.  

Before entering politics full-time, Stone worked in a variety of jobs, including gutting fish in the Faroe Islands, working on building sites, teaching English in Sicily and working in the oil industry.

He also served in the Army Reserves.  

Personal Life

Stone is married to Flora, and they have three adult children.

In June 2020, he reportedly criticised the government’s refusal to extend the proxy voting system during the Covid lockdown. The same PoliticsHome report described Stone as having cared for his disabled wife for 21 years.

Stone stated at the time: “Tuesday ended with me having to watch drones of Conservative MPs voting to end the virtual Parliament, despite in private many criticising Jacob Rees-Mogg’s ridiculous queue system. I was left trying to figure out how to tell my constituents that their voice was being silenced for this farce.”

Trivia

Stone is reportedly an expert on edible fungi.

He told the Holyrood magazine in 2023: “When I was working on the Nigg yard there was an American / Italian engineer, and I discovered that he was going out in the Highlands picking fungi and drying them in his rented house, and of course, Italians love all of this. He told me that you don’t realise what riches you have in the Highlands, and he took me out.

“He taught me the basics of what to look for, and it was a great gift. There aren’t as many fungi [as there used to be], maybe because they are over picked.

“You’ll see me go out with a bag and knife.”