Jamie Halcro Johnston | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament forHighlands and Islands (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 20 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Douglas Ross[a] |
| Scottish Conservative portfolios | |
| 2021–2024 | Shadow Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise |
| 2024–present | Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Connectivity and the Islands |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jamie Halcro Johnston (1975-10-08)8 October 1975 (age 49) Oxford,Oxfordshire, England |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of Exeter |
| Website | Official website |
Jamie Halcro Johnston (born 8 October 1975) is a British politician who is aMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for theHighlands and Islands region since 2017. A member of theScottish Conservative Party, he also serves as their Shadow Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise.
Halcro Johnston was brought up at his family home inOrphir inOrkney[citation needed]. His father, Hugh Halcro Johnston, previously served asConvener ofOrkney Islands Council. His great-great uncle isHenry Halcro Johnston, a botanist, British Army Officer andScotland rugby union international.[1]
Educated atRadley College, Halcro Johnston studied atCoventry University and theUniversity of Exeter, where he received a BA (Hons) in Ancient History. He was previously employed by theFinancial Times in London and, between 2003 and 2007, he worked as an adviser to a number of Scottish Conservative MSPs, before moving to a position atHolyrood magazine.[2][3][4]
Halcro Johnston stood for election to the Scottish Parliament inInverness East, Nairn and Lochaber in 2007 and then theOrkney constituency in 2011 and 2016. He also stood for UK Parliament in theMoray constituency in 2005 and theOrkney and Shetland seat in 2017.
Following the resignation ofDouglas Ross to take up a position as aMember of theUK Parliament after his election in the2017 general election, Halcro Johnston became a Member of the Scottish Parliament on the Highlands and Islands regional list on 20 June 2017;[5] with the party having gained 44,693 votes in the region at the 2016 election.[6]
After entering theScottish Parliament, he was appointed by party leaderRuth Davidson as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Shadow Minister for Jobs, Employability and Training.[7] He served asShadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, being appointed by leaderDouglas Ross in 2020.[8]
In the2021 Scottish Parliament election, Halcro Johnston stood in theSkye, 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.