MP looking ahead to 2029 election as he moves into new office
LONG-serving Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has confirmed that it is “more likely than not” that his name would again be on the ballot paper for the 2029 Westminster election.
The MP for Orkney and Shetland was talking to Shetland News on Friday during the official opening of his new Lerwick constituency office at 155 Commercial Street.
After years of looking for suitable premises in a central location, Carmichael and his team moved down the street from 171 Commercial Street earlier this summer.
Moving into newly refurbished offices clearly is a sign of confidence and thus leads to the inevitable question about his plans for the future.
First elected in 2001, he succeeded the late Jim Wallace as the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland. Carmichael has now become the longest serving parliamentarian in Northern Isles history, winning the last election in July 2024 comfortably with around 55 per cent of the vote.
“You have no job security beyond the next election,” he insisted, adding: “But even though I have been at this for 25 years I still feel fresh and I am still enjoying it.
“I can do stuff because I have the longevity and the experience. For example, when we had the campaign around the coastguard rescue officers, I was able to lead that in the House of Commons and people looked to me to lead it, because it is not the first time that I had to campaign against the coastguard.
“And of course the work I can do around farming and fishing in the select committee (of which he is the chair) gives me a profile and an access to ministers which is better than I ever had.”
But ultimately, it is not his decision, he said, but that of the local party branch.
“It will be for the local party to decide if they want to keep me as a candidate, which will probably towards the end of the year.
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“And then it will be for the voters to decide if they want to have me as their MP.
“Even if it runs to the end of the parliament in 2029, I think it is more likely than not that I will have my name on the ballot paper.”
The move to new premises was not triggered by the Lib Dems losing last year’s Holyrood election, which means the MP is no longer sharing an office with Shetland’s MSP. Instead, he pointed to access limitations associated with the previous office for anybody with mobility issues.
“Having flat access from the street and having a private space right inside the door where you can see anybody is absolutely critical,” the MP said. “Plus we have got more private space upstairs – it’s as close to being purpose built as we could have.
“I have been looking for suitable premises for the last couple of years. In terms of rent, [we are paying] the same than in 171, where we’ve been for 23 years.”
The office is staffed by his local case worker Andrew Emmerson and a part-time communications officer who will soon be working full time.
The MP will also soon be looking for an admin apprentice to learn the ropes of running a parliamentarian’s “small business” with offices in Lerwick, Kirkwall and London.
“It is something the House of Commons have been encouraging us all to do for a long time,” he said.
“If you just list the various functions that we perform, you realise that administratively there is quite a lot for a young person to learn here, [from] managing the diary, keeping the finances, budgeting, compliance with parliament and GDPR rules etc.”
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