Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland
Alistair Carmichael has been an MP since 2001. Currently: Liaison Sub-Committee on National Policy Statements; Liaison Committee (Commons); Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
Roles and committees
Posts held in government or opposition, and committee seats, as Parliament records them.
In government
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State for Scotland (Scotland Office) | 2013 to 2015 | |
| Comptroller (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons) (HM Household) | 2010 to 2013 |
In opposition
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Justice) (Opposition Department) | 2022 to 2024 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Home Affairs) (Opposition Department) | 2020 to 2024 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Cabinet Office) (Opposition Department) | 2020 to 2022 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Northern Ireland) (Opposition Department) | 2020 to 2024 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) (Opposition Department) | 2020 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Exiting the European Union) (Opposition Department) | 2020 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Opposition Department) | 2019 | |
| Liberal Democrat Chief Whip (Opposition Department) | 2017 to 2020 |
Show the other 7
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Northern Ireland) (Opposition Department) | 2017 to 2020 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Home Affairs) (Opposition Department) | 2015 to 2017 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Scotland) (Opposition Department) | 2008 to 2010 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Northern Ireland) (Opposition Department) | 2007 to 2010 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Transport) (Opposition Department) | 2006 to 2007 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Home Affairs) (Opposition Department) | 2005 to 2006 | |
| Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Energy and Climate Change) (Opposition Department) | 2001 to 2005 |
Committees
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Liaison Sub-Committee on National Policy Statements | 2025 to now | Now |
| Liaison Committee (Commons) | 2024 to now | Now |
| Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee | 2024 to now | Now |
| Prison Media Bill | 2024 | |
| Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Disabled Persons) Bill | 2022 | |
| Local Government (Disqualification) Bill | 2021 | |
| Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union | 2016 to 2017 | |
| Energy and Climate Change Committee | 2015 to 2016 |
Show the other 7
| Post | When | |
|---|---|---|
| Members' Allowances | 2009 to 2010 | |
| Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill (Joint Committee) | 2008 | |
| Consolidation etc. Bills (Joint Committee) | 2008 to 2010 | |
| Scottish Affairs Committee | 2008 to 2010 | |
| Public Accounts Committee | 2005 to 2006 | |
| International Development Committee | 2001 to 2002 | |
| Scottish Affairs Committee | 2001 to 2005 |
Countries of interest
Political Interests
Source: UK Parliament Members API · Parliament’s own page
Declared interests
MPs must publish certain paid work, gifts, donations and other interests. This is a record of what they declared, not a suggestion that anything is wrong.
Alistair Carmichael has 6 interests currently registered.
| Type | What was registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Employment and earnings - Ad hoc payments | Payment received on 29 September 2025 - £750.00 | 30 Sep 2025 |
| Land and property (within or outside the UK) | Property in Islay, Argyll | 16 Nov 2021 |
| Miscellaneous | An unpaid partner in Coillabus Farms. | 16 Nov 2021 |
| Shareholdings | Shares in Coillabus Farms | 16 Nov 2021 |
| Employment and earnings | Member of the Advisory Board of the House Magazine | 22 Sep 2021 |
| Miscellaneous | Unremunerated Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding. | 12 Oct 2017 |
Source: Register of Members’ Financial Interests · Parliament’s own page
Questions
MPs can ask ministers questions in writing. The questions show what an MP is working on, which votes cannot.
Alistair Carmichael asked 14 written questions in the last 12 months.
Who they asked
Latest questions
Source: Written Questions API · Updated 4 Oct 2026
Expenses
MPs claim back money for running an office and working in two places. An independent body, IPSA, publishes every claim. This is what was paid in 2025-26.
123 claims. For comparison, across the 657 MPs in IPSA’s file the middle MP was paid £18,469 and the average was £19,699.
Source: IPSA, individual business costs data · About this data
Election result and area
Alistair Carmichael represents Orkney and Shetland. Here is who won there at the last general election, and a few numbers about the area.
Liberal Democrat
votes ahead of second place
of people who could vote did
Alistair Carmichael won with 55% of the votes, and Robert Leslie (Scottish National Party) came second with 17%.
Votes for each party
Every candidate
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alistair Carmichael | Liberal Democrat | 11,392 | 55.1% |
| Robert Leslie | Scottish National Party | 3,585 | 17.3% |
| Alex Armitage | Scottish Green Party | 2,046 | 9.9% |
| Robert Smith | Reform UK | 1,586 | 7.7% |
| Conor Savage | Labour | 1,493 | 7.2% |
| Shane Painter | Conservative | 586 | 2.8% |
2024 General Election, on today’s boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library via the Members API.
Your area at a glance
Median gross weekly pay, 2025. Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Share of people aged 16 to 64, August 2026. Source: ONS and DWP claimant count.
How they vote
In the last 12 months Alistair Carmichael took part in 118 Commons votes.
More detail on how they vote
Alistair Carmichael voted the same way as their party in 116 of the 116 votes where parties gave instructions (100%), and went the other way in 0.
What does this mean?
Parties tell their MPs how to vote. Most MPs usually follow that. A high or low count says nothing on its own about whether an MP is good or bad, and we do not rank MPs by it. We only count votes where parties gave instructions, not free votes. How we count it
Recent votes
| Date | Vote | They voted | Compared with party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep | End of life for terminally ill adults: the first main vote | For | Free vote |
| 11 Sep | A vote to end a debate | For | Free vote |
| 2 Sep | Voting and elections: the final vote | For | Same as party |
| 2 Sep | Voting and elections: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
| 2 Sep | Voting and elections: a proposed change | Against | Same as party |
| 2 Sep | Voting and elections: a proposed change | For | Same as party |
See every vote on Parliament’s site
Has this changed over time?
View data table
| Month | This MP | Party average |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Nov 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Dec 25 | 100% | 100% |
| Jan 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Feb 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Mar 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Apr 26 | 100% | 100% |
| May 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jun 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Jul 26 | 100% | 100% |
| Sep 26 | 100% | 100% |
Source: Commons Votes API
This page states what the record shows. It does not say why an MP voted as they did. How we calculate this