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11 min read20 September
Entrepreneur, papal knight and present Liberal Democrat backbencher Angus MacDonald tells Sienna Rodgers astir his colourful beingness and wherefore Westminster needs much concern brains
Angus MacDonald is described arsenic a “rare politician” by a workfellow who compares him, approvingly, to a reddish squirrel.
Papal knight, self-described Gladstonian liberal, Sandhurst postgraduate – it mightiness beryllium casual to formed the 63-year-old arsenic an anachronistic holdout against the grey tide of modernity successful his Highland fastness. But MacDonald is besides a highly palmy entrepreneur, a multi-millionaire who has acceptable up and sold a drawstring of businesses and brings to Parliament a crisp oculus for the market.
He confesses helium was shocked by however galore MPs extremity up astatine Westminster aft a vocation wrong the state’s fold, untroubled by the bottommost enactment erstwhile helium bushed the SNP to correspond Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, portion of which was erstwhile Charles Kennedy’s patch.
While expressing alleviation that Ed Davey has “stopped the stunts” (although this is contradicted by the person successful his ain House interview), MacDonald is not particularly captious of his party’s figurehead. He does, however, deliberation the Liberal Democrats request to grow their offer.
“We request to broaden our range. Everybody knows we’re the enactment of wellness and societal care, but I deliberation we request to beryllium the enactment of tiny business, and the enactment of education. If we had a three-legged stool, we would beryllium a existent contender to beryllium a enactment successful power.”
“But my sentiment is to beryllium taken lightly due to the fact that I don’t person a hint what I’m talking about,” helium adds, successful what The House comes to recognise is emblematic playful – and disarming – self-effacement.
MacDonald, it is just to say, is afloat of surprises, cheerfully admitting for illustration that helium is simply a erstwhile donor to the Conservatives and Labour. The MP says this was successful assistance of resisting Scottish independence, though his attraction to the Conservatives went deeper than that.
“My begetter was a Conservative. But Boris Johnson and Liz Truss knocked immoderate affection for the Conservative Party I mightiness person had,” helium says. Could that alteration again 1 day, if the Tories were to determination backmost to the centre? “I would accidental I was a compassionate capitalist, and I don’t deliberation the Conservatives person that compassion.”
So, what does MacDonald privation to execute successful politics? His reply is contiguous and comes with a printed transcript of a study helium has conscionable written, titled Remote Scotland: Spiralling Towards Unviability?.
“Those surviving successful distant Scotland look an unparalleled, hard situation of astir survival,” helium explains. “Costs are 30 per cent higher. Incomes are 10 per cent lower. Public services are overmuch little good, and the stopping of EU structural funds has been catastrophic. We are present generating the energy needed for Great Britain from the Highlands, but it is offering minimal jobs, nary bequest lodging and astir nary assemblage benefit.”
High housing, vigor and nutrient costs, wellness and societal attraction deserts, a deficiency of childcare, mediocre transport and integer connectivity are each analysed and assessed arsenic “serious” oregon “critical” successful his paper, implicit with constituent testimonies. Current authorities policy, MacDonald argues, simply does not cater for this country arsenic 1 of Europe’s astir sparsely populated regions. The demographic situation is peculiarly acute present and getting worse.
“I would accidental the West Highlands has the astir terrible demographic occupation of the full United Kingdom. Many of the schools person fractional the schoolhouse rotation they had 20 years ago.
"Obviously, radical are having little children, but we person young, dynamic families leaving the country due to the fact that of the acquisition offering and the information you get paid little and the costs are higher.”
Does helium person immoderate thoughts connected the situation of explaining our declining commencement rates? “As you’ve discovered, I’m not precise bright,” helium replies, “so I ne'er person the adjacent thought.” He suspects societal media is simply a cardinal culprit.
MacDonald is particularly funny successful economical policy, for illustration lobbying to rise the VAT registration threshold for tiny businesses, though admits helium has not got precise acold with this.
“I would accidental what’s astir shocked maine is the implicit deficiency of concern cognition and involvement passim the full of Parliament, and that the radical who are coming into Parliament are precise often radical who person been successful the nationalist sector, oregon charities, oregon consultancy, oregon person been conscionable successful politics,” helium complains.
“I’m precise frustrated due to the fact that I spell astir seeing everybody astir my policies and nobody’s interested.”
What is possibly much attention-grabbing astir MacDonald’s authorities is his attack to taste issues. On the look of it, 1 mightiness telephone him a societal conservative, though helium prefers to characterise himself arsenic a Gladstonian liberal. He is also, notably, a Catholic – to the grade helium has been awarded a papal knighthood, for work to the religion – which indispensable person informed his absorption to assisted dying.
“I deliberation 11 of the 72 Lib Dems voted against assisted dying.” (It was 11 astatine Second Reading and 15 astatine Third.) “I anticipation there’ll beryllium much than that adjacent clip round. Politically, it’s enormously utile for maine – my voters are thrilled with my motivation stance,” helium says.
While immoderate advocates of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying measure were captious of those who objected connected the ground of faith, others pointed retired that we each get our motivation compass from somewhere.
“I accidental I get guidance connected a content that politicians should person a motivation compass, and I deliberation if you’re progressive successful faith, you’re much apt to person a motivation compass. That’s going to rile a fewer radical up,” MacDonald smiles.
He has surely angered immoderate Lib Dem members online with his dissent connected trans issues, having made wide helium rejects self-identification connected sex and is acrophobic by the puberty blockers trial.
“I person had perfectly nary pushback connected my beliefs from anybody,” helium says, referring to Lib Dem MPs, “even though I cognize that 3 oregon 4 of them are 180 degrees other of each my views.”
“The large happening astir liberalism is it’s rather a wide church. The information is, I’ll ballot against the whip connected things I attraction about. I made it precise wide erstwhile I joined that I wouldn’t beryllium whipped connected motivation issues,” helium adds.
London-born MacDonald was raised successful a celebrated Highlands climbers’ pub, Clachaig Inn, which his parents ran. “It was a large spot to turn up,” helium recalls. “It was backmost successful the days erstwhile pubs were precise vibrant places, truthful we would sometimes person 300 radical successful the bar. For a agrarian pub, it was humming.”
He started serving pints aged 10, helium says. And drinking them? “Surreptitiously oregon legally?” the MP replies. He cannot retrieve but does confess to “minesweeping” – finishing abandoned drinks.
I’m precise frustrated due to the fact that I spell astir seeing everybody astir my policies and nobody’s interested
His parents met successful New York, wherever his begetter was moving successful the whisky industry, earlier his American parent was brought backmost to the Highlands – a “huge shock” fixed the bedewed upwind and isolation. “She lasted 30 years, which is 29 and a fractional years longer than anybody thought it would last,” earlier going backmost to the States.
“I went to a Catholic boarding schoolhouse down southbound successful bid to get immoderate subject knocked into me, and past my parents ran retired of money, truthful they moved america to a time schoolhouse successful Edinburgh, Edinburgh Academy,” says the MP, enthusiastically tucking into his crystal pick (it is simply a blistery time successful Westminster – though apparently, helium eats it each time of the year).
“But a) I didn’t bash good academically, and b) I met a girl, and I pursued her to Uruguay. She was Uruguayan, but she was doing a one-year speech successful Scotland. I thought, ‘She’s the 1 for me.’”
Leaving aged conscionable 16, helium spent a twelvemonth successful South America – until her household “made it wide that I should determination on”. In the meantime, his entrepreneurial ways had begun: via a autobus task for tourists headed for Machu Picchu successful Peru, helium made “a just spot of money”.
“I came backmost connected the QE2, the liner. My begetter met maine successful Southampton, and helium said, ‘It’s the service for you, laddie.’ I went to Sandhurst, extraordinarily, past did a abbreviated work commission, which was the making of me.”
MacDonald repeatedly emphasises conscionable however lacking helium was successful world quality – a astonishment to him, fixed his begetter was an Oxford scholar. “He’s brilliantly intelligent. He was ne'er a money-maker. He couldn’t rather recognize wherefore his children were not academic, and I don’t cognize the answer. But I’ve had galore MBAs and PhDs enactment for me, and I look to person been capable to clasp my own.”
Highlands cinema
So, disconnected the young MacDonald went to the Falklands, post-ceasefire (“similar to the Highlands: precise remote, tens of thousands of acres of barren land, precise beardown winds – I don’t retrieve being unhappy determination astatine all”), past Northern Ireland. He was 18; the youngest successful his platoon of 30.
“You turn up precise quickly. You person to summation respect; you person to gain respect. It doesn’t travel with the job. I deliberation it was a bully acquisition successful hard work, humility, moving good with people, getting results without shouting. It’s a precise consensual narration betwixt the officer, the sergeant and the men.”
MacDonald soon near the service – again, to prosecute romance, having met his now-wife successful Northern Ireland.
“I had already decided that the miss I was with was the 1 for me. She really decided I was not. There’s a spot of a taxable coming here! She did extremity up marrying me, but it took rather a while.
“I ever knew that the service – it’s a hard household life. You’re distant from location a large deal, and you unrecorded successful poor-quality housing, successful a portion of the satellite wherever your household don’t needfully privation to be. Also, I knew I wanted to spell and enactment successful the Alps arsenic a skis guide,” helium says.
“I did that for a wintertime and met a chap successful a chairlift who offered maine a occupation successful finance. Obviously, you conscionable support going circular until they connection you a occupation and can’t get off.”
The relation kindled successful him a emotion of business. Since then, MacDonald has founded aggregate companies – including a information merchandise for concern managers, a paper and a recycling steadfast – and sold them for a cumulative £150m.
MacDonald’s sons Archie, Jack and Jamie person followed the aforesaid entrepreneurial way (soap, kombucha and the household concern of supplying spare parts for upwind turbines, respectively). A 4th son, Donald, is the exception; helium is “one of the Neets”, struggling to enactment successful concern aft gaining a 2.1 successful theology astatine Edinburgh, truthful has conscionable requalified.
“Hopefully, he’ll get a occupation now. But the large alarm to maine is truthful galore of our kids are studying a taxable which volition not assistance them get jobs successful Britain, and I deliberation we person to aftermath up and odor the bacon,” says MacDonald. Did helium counsel Donald against speechmaking theology? “I’ve ever made it wide to him that he’s huffy for studying that.”
The MP is astir arrogant of his philanthropic projects. In the 90s, helium created the ‘Caledonian Challenge’, a 54-mile sponsored locomotion from Fort William to Loch Lomond that raised £14m implicit 20 years, for which helium was awarded an OBE.
More recently, helium work an nonfiction astir however to alteration a marketplace municipality and spotted an accidental to heighten Fort William, which struggles contempt being a tourer centre (mostly a gully for hikers; besides for Harry Potter fans who privation to sojourn the adjacent Glenfinnan Viaduct, which carries the Hogwarts Express successful the films).
It recommended a municipality centre cinema with a edifice – so, that is precisely what MacDonald created. He bought the aged municipality hall, enactment a 100-seat edifice and two-screen cinema successful it, and parked a reddish Lotus sports car wrong for bully measure. It is present award-winning and owned by the community.
As an MP successful the Highlands, MacDonald has a hard schedule. He leaves location connected a Sunday day to drawback the sleeper bid down for parliamentary concern starting a time later, often tin lone marque it location for 1 nighttime a week, and travels up to 4 hours to enactment astatine the acold extremity of his constituency adjacent erstwhile helium is there. “I wouldn’t accidental my woman is simply a fan.”
Despite this, and his reflection that “in retrospect, I would’ve been precise blessed to beryllium an MSP”, helium is blessed with the determination to instrumentality a spot successful Westminster.
“Quite a batch of my friends are 65 and bored and not contributing and not fulfilled. They haven’t helped different people. They’ve done well, clipped the coupon and not benefited,” helium says.
“I judge precise powerfully that if you’ve been fortunate successful life, you should springiness back. It would person been casual for maine to proceed my beingness of comfortableness successful the Highlands of Scotland, penning novels and enjoying the societal buzz, but I don’t deliberation that is me.
“Although I find the committedness to Westminster a existent challenge, I bask it a large deal, and bash consciousness that radical who tin marque alteration should bash it alternatively than instrumentality the casual option.”
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