Official portrait of Mr Alistair Carmichael

Mr Alistair Carmichael

Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, since 7 June 2001

The Rt Hon Mr Alistair Carmichael is the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, and has been an MP continually since 7 June 2001.

Scorecard

51.3% Attendance In the least-present tenth of MPs who vote
294 Votes cast out of 575 divisions, plus 1 as teller
280 No vote recorded absent, abstaining, paired or unable to attend
1 Against their own party divisions where they voted the other way to most Liberal Democrat MPs
6 Interests declared none at £5,000 or more
1479 Debates spoken in 565 written questions tabled

Ranked 579 of 638 MPs for attendance. The median of MPs who vote is 72.3%. Ministers and front-benchers vote less often than backbenchers for reasons of office rather than absenteeism, and Parliament does not publish reasons for any absence — the ranking is a starting point for a question, not an answer to one.

Voting record

575 divisions since they took their seat, newest first.

DateQuestionTheir voteResult
4 Feb 2026 Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 deferred division No vote 392–116
3 Feb 2026 Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill: Second Reading Aye 458–104
28 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: Youth unemployment No vote 91–287
28 Jan 2026 Opposition Day: British Indian Ocean Territory No vote 103–284
28 Jan 2026 Draft Medical Devices (Fees Amendment) Regulations 2026 deferred division No vote 294–108
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 1 No vote 88–310
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 2 No vote 61–311
27 Jan 2026 Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill: Amendment 9 No vote 91–378
21 Jan 2026 Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 (Remedial) Order 2025 Aye 373–106
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill: Third Reading No 316–194
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill Committee: New Clause 5 Aye 195–317
21 Jan 2026 National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill Committee: Amendment 5 Aye 191–326
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 6 No 347–184
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 5 No 347–185
20 Jan 2026 Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 1 No 344–182
20 Jan 2026 Sentencing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 7 No vote 319–127
14 Jan 2026 Draft Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 deferred division No vote 301–110
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 26 No vote 172–334
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 9 No vote 181–335
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 86 stand part No vote 344–173
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 25 Aye 187–351
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 24 Aye 184–331
13 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Clause 63 Stand part No 348–167
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: New Clause 7 Aye 188–341
12 Jan 2026 Finance (No. 2) Bill Committee: Amendment 3 Aye 185–344

Declared financial interests

Quoted in full from the Register of Members' Financial Interests. Entries where the largest figure is £5,000 or more are marked. A declaration is not a wrongdoing — the register exists precisely so that these things are visible.

1. Employment and earnings

Role, work or services: Member of the Advisory Board of the House Magazine
From: 12 May 2021.
Payer: Dods Group Ltd, 11th Floor, The Shard, 32 London Bridge St, London SE1 9SG
(Registered 22 September 2021)

On the register since 8 Oct 2025

Payment: £750
Received on: 29 September 2025. Hours: 5 hrs.
(Registered 30 September 2025)

On the register since 8 Oct 2025

6. Land and property portfolio with a value over £100,000 and where indicated, the portfolio provides a rental income of over £10,000 a year

Type of land/property: Agricultural land (Farmland including farm buildings and one house let as holiday accommodation, managed through Coillabus Farms)
Location: Islay, Argyll
Interest held: from 10 November 2021
Rental income: from 10 November 2021
Rental income details: income paid to my father
(Registered 16 November 2021; updated 29 July 2024)

On the register since 16 Aug 2024

7. (i) Shareholdings: over 15% of issued share capital

Name of company or organisation: Coillabus Farms
Nature of business: A firm which manages two farms and the letting of self-catering holiday accommodation on Islay.
Interest held: from 24 October 2021
(Registered 16 November 2021)

On the register since 18 Apr 2024

8. Miscellaneous

An unpaid partner in Coillabus Farms.
Date interest arose: 24 October 2021
(Registered 16 November 2021)

On the register since 16 Aug 2024

Unremunerated Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding.
Date interest arose: 22 September 2017
(Registered 12 October 2017)

On the register since 18 Apr 2024

The same register on parliament.uk →

Debates

1479 debates contributed to in total. The ten most recent:


Sources: Commons Votes API, Members API and the Register of Members' Financial Interests, all published by Parliament under the Open Parliament Licence. This member's register and debate record were last refreshed 3 Aug 2026. How every figure is worked out →

Machine-readable: JSON for this MP.

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