Stone throws hat in the ring for a fresh stint at Holyrood
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COUNCILLOR Jamie Stone hopes to become an MSP for the second time.
The Liberal Democrat Highland Councillor, who serves the Tain and Easter Ross ward, stood down from the Scottish Parliament in 2011 after 25 years of public service.
Cllr Stone has been chosen as number one on the list but the selection process has not finished.
The Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat is currently held by the SNP's Rob Gibson.
He seized the constituency from the Liberal Democrats, whose candidate at that time was Robbie Rowantree, with a massive swing.
Mr Gibson was returned with a swing of over 17 per cent from the LibDems.
The next election to the Scottish Parliament is being held in May of next year.
Mr Stone said his experience as a councillor for Tain and Easter Ross had given him a whole new insight into the important issues affecting people's lives.
The keen gardener, who was born and bred in Tain, said every MP should take some time out to find out what is important in their constituency.
“The experience of coming out of politics and actually getting a life I think has proved to be invaluable,” he said.
“I remember John Farquhar Munro, who was an MSP at the same time as me, saying it’s only when you stand down that you find out what people really think the issues are. And those were incredible words and I would recommend every single MP to actually take time out and go and see what happens.”
He also believes his experience as a councillor, being twice elected to the ward, will be the making of his next stint at Holyrood, if he wins the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross seat.
“When you’re working as a councillor you’re working on things that really impact on constituents’ lives,” he said. “It actually makes you realise at the coal-face what really is important and that means also that you see it from a bottom-up perspective, which is the right way.”
The 60-year-old father-of-three, who spent the last two panto seasons playing Snivel, the evil witch’s incompetent assistant for the Tain Garrick Singers and Panto group, said if fortunate enough to be voted in, he would “take nothing for granted” and have a lot of staff in the constituency.
“My experience in Highland really convinced me that you really ought to have a big footprint in any your constituency, rather than in Edinburgh,” he said. And he sees rural health services, train and transport links and jobs for the Far North, as the real issues affecting the everyday lives of people in the constituency.
“We have to address the issues of do we really want to deliver rural health services because at the moment there’s a big question mark over outer-lying hospitals, particularly Caithness General, and Raigmore are saying they are absolutely at capacity.”
He added: “As Dounreay continues to decommission, it is vitally important that representatives at the national level keep up the maximum pressure on both the UK and Scottish Governments to put in place replacement high quality employment in the Far North. I was very vocal on this issue in the past - and given the opportunity, then I would intend to be so again in the future.”
Councillor Stone also sees the A9 North and straightening-up the Berriedale Braes as a priority, along with problems with incompetent train services, and he worries about the “disconnect” between young people and politics, saying he is not entirely convinced that the surge in interest during the referendum will continue.
“It’s really important to get out as much as possible to schools,” he said. “A bit like my experience as a ward member in Tain, I feel as if I have discovered a gold mine. I an really see what the issues are.”
He also believes MP Danny Alexander has a good chance of keeping his Highland seat. “People would expect that I would say this but people in the Highlands, in my experience there’s an element of trust between the elected and the electorate that transcends national trends. If Danny goes through it will be on his personal reputation as a constituency member.”
Councillor Stone lives Tain with his wife Flora. The couple have three grown-up children, 32-year-old RAF intelligence officer, Georgina, who spent three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and twin brother and sister Rupert, who works in finance in the UK capital, and Katie, who is an interior designer.
