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Mon, 31 March 2025
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Alistair Carmichael MP

Alistair Carmichael MP

Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland

The Family Breakup Bill Is A New Low For The Conservatives
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The Family Breakup Bill Is A New Low For The Conservatives
Countless families who planned to reunite in the UK have had their hopes dashed by a cruel, arbitrary threshold.
With the Tories and SNP left flailing in Scottish waters, the Lib Dems can swim to victory
Communities
By Alistair Carmichael MP
With the Tories and SNP left flailing in Scottish waters, the Lib Dems can swim to victory
A possibly apocryphal story tells of a military commander who was told his forces were surrounded. His response? “Perfect. They can’t get away from us this time!”
Detaining child migrants is a stain on our country – it is not a solution to deter small boats
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Detaining child migrants is a stain on our country – it is not a solution to deter small boats
You know that a policy is unlikely to succeed when it fails the “laugh” test. So it proved when Parliament heard Robert Jenrick’s solution to the “small boats crisis” – a barge. Take all the people on small boats – and put them into one big boat.
The Chancellor must step up support for whisky distillers suffering from rising energy costs
Economy
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The Chancellor must step up support for whisky distillers suffering from rising energy costs
When you imagine energy-intensive businesses, there are obvious examples that spring to mind. Images abound of grand factories and industrial towns, steel producers and mass manufacturers.
HSBC must end support for Beijing’s crackdown
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
HSBC must end support for Beijing’s crackdown
When the pioneering Scotsman Thomas Sutherland founded the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in 1865, he did so on the promise of ‘sound Scottish banking,’ renowned for its fairness, dynamism, and community service.
Alistair Carmichael interview: Representing the islands of Orkney and Shetland
Communities
By Gabriella Bennett
Alistair Carmichael interview: Representing the islands of Orkney and Shetland
Representing 32 islands, Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has a truly unique constituency; as he tells Gabriella Bennett, logistical challenges are only half the battle.
'Grisly': Alistair Carmichael reviews 'Executions'
Books & culture
By Alistair Carmichael MP
'Grisly': Alistair Carmichael reviews 'Executions'
This well curated exhibition exploring the history of public execution in London has a few gruesome moments but – thankfully – lacks the horror of contemporary capital punishment
The UK must sanction Chinese officials guilty of human rights abuses
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The UK must sanction Chinese officials guilty of human rights abuses
We currently live at a time when democracy is under threat in various geopolitical arenas across the globe.
Home Office Refuses To Say How Much Was Spent On Failed Asylum Centre Project
Communities
Home Office Refuses To Say How Much Was Spent On Failed Asylum Centre Project
The Home Office is under pressure to disclose details of payments to private outsourcing firm, Serco, for their work on a proposed asylum accommodation centre Linton-on-Ouse which was scrapped amid local opposition.
The government’s threat to leave the ECHR to fulfil its Rwanda policy risks breaking the Good Friday Agreement
Brexit
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The government’s threat to leave the ECHR to fulfil its Rwanda policy risks breaking the Good Friday Agreement
What a difference a day makes. In less than 24 hours Boris Johnson has gone from pretending to be a defender of the Good Friday Agreement, to threatening to remove the legal underpinnings of peace in Northern Ireland altogether.
Dystopian plan to offshore refugees to Rwanda will do nothing to fix our failing asylum system
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Dystopian plan to offshore refugees to Rwanda will do nothing to fix our failing asylum system
It takes some effort to be both inhumane and incompetent. That, however, has become Boris Johnson and Priti Patel’s calling card.
If the UK is to be a home for Hong Kongers, they need more than an entry ticket
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
If the UK is to be a home for Hong Kongers, they need more than an entry ticket
It has been more than a year since Britain stood tall on the world stage and opened its doors to Hong Kongers fleeing Beijing’s tyranny through the introduction of the British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme.
The Government cannot call out Putin with authority while mounting a civil liberties crackdown of its own
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The Government cannot call out Putin with authority while mounting a civil liberties crackdown of its own
Across Russia in the last few days, thousands of people have come out to protest in solidarity with Ukraine and against the invasion of their neighbour ordered by Vladimir Putin.
There should be far more rigorous financial rules for MPs
Parliament
By Alistair Carmichael MP
There should be far more rigorous financial rules for MPs
Last year I fought to ensure that MPs for rural and island communities would be able to participate remotely in Parliament during the height of the pandemic. I did so to ensure that our communities got the same representation as anywhere else, regardless of geography or personal circumstances.
Parliamentary pensions should not be invested in Chinese companies complicit in human rights violations
Economy
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Parliamentary pensions should not be invested in Chinese companies complicit in human rights violations
The government must join the US in introducing an entities list banning UK investment in Chinese companies directly complicit in the oppression of the Uyghurs.
Domestic vaccine passports are a counterproductive, illiberal gimmick – the government must think again
Coronavirus
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Domestic vaccine passports are a counterproductive, illiberal gimmick – the government must think again
Governments can always come up with reasons to chip away at individual liberty. Uniformity and conformity, after all, makes life easier for them.
EVEL was never an adequate solution to democratic inequality in the UK
Political parties
By Alistair Carmichael MP
EVEL was never an adequate solution to democratic inequality in the UK
EVEL was a divisive and counterproductive step and its repeal is welcome. Unless we defeat the roots of the problems in our democracy, however, the EVEL in our politics will always come back to haunt us.
Our broken immigration system needs to change
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Our broken immigration system needs to change
Fail to end the Tories hostile environment for once and for all and the scenes of Glasgow last week will soon become the scenes of Manchester, Birmingham, London or Cardiff.
As long as the SNP sees independence as the most important issue, Scotland will suffer
Political parties
By Alistair Carmichael MP
As long as the SNP sees independence as the most important issue, Scotland will suffer
Pro-EU voters in Scotland who vote for the SNP or for independence are being conned by a party that will always hold internationalist values second to the priority of independence.
Boris Johnson should keep to his word, and choke off any attempts to introduce voter ID
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Boris Johnson should keep to his word, and choke off any attempts to introduce voter ID
“If I am ever asked, on the streets of London, or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am… then I will take that card out of my wallet and physically eat it in the presence of whatever emanation of the state has demanded that I produce it.”
Harry and Meghan’s British citizenship should not be up for debate
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Harry and Meghan’s British citizenship should not be up for debate
The government is slyly misusing their powers to remove citizenship and using the veil of populism to justify this abuse. It is time to curtail these powers, no matter who they are applied to.
Only when Boris Johnson accepts responsibility for flaws in the Northern Ireland Protocol can we find a lasting solution
Brexit
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Only when Boris Johnson accepts responsibility for flaws in the Northern Ireland Protocol can we find a lasting solution
What is needed now is level-headed governance and a recognition of responsibility by those who created the Protocol in all its flaws, so that we can mitigate as many of them as possible.
MPs must vote against ‘licence to kill’ Bill
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
MPs must vote against ‘licence to kill’ Bill
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill still gives far too many public bodies sweeping powers to grant total legal immunity for informants to commit crimes.
Let’s stop using the fishing industry as a political football and work together to untangle Brexit red tape
Brexit
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Let’s stop using the fishing industry as a political football and work together to untangle Brexit red tape
Scottish fishermen have been losing £1M each day for the past week because of Brexit disruption. They need urgent support from the Prime Minister, not excuses and uncertainty.
Boycotting the G20 can help improve Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Boycotting the G20 can help improve Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
With Saudi Arabia reeling from the effects of Covid-19 and with an incoming Biden administration promising to focus on climate change, now is the time to put pressure on the regime to improve its human rights record
Torture has been illegal in the UK for over 300 years – today the Overseas Operations Bill will overturn this
Defence
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Torture has been illegal in the UK for over 300 years – today the Overseas Operations Bill will overturn this
The Overseas Operations Bill will not deliver adequate protection for our armed forces personnel – rather, it will reduce their rights.
The UK’s digital story of unequal outcomes has been laid bare by the pandemic
Communities
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The UK’s digital story of unequal outcomes has been laid bare by the pandemic
Those living and working in the countryside must have the same digital access as their urban counterparts. It’s time for government to rise to the rural connectivity challenge
Honours should not be awarded to police officers involved with human rights violations
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Honours should not be awarded to police officers involved with human rights violations
It is unconscionable to witness the Hong Kong honours system rewarding police officers responsible for the abuse of HongKongers. The UK government must impose Magnitsky-style sanctions to demonstrate our commitment to global human rights.
The UK risks losing all moral authority on law-breaking if the Internal Markets Bill goes ahead
Brexit
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The UK risks losing all moral authority on law-breaking if the Internal Markets Bill goes ahead
The UK Internal Market Bill strikes at the future constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom as a unitary state. There is still time for us to reject this murky path the government have decided on.
The Immigration Bill provides an opportunity to end ‘inhumane’ indefinite detention
Home affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
The Immigration Bill provides an opportunity to end ‘inhumane’ indefinite detention
Immigration detention should be a last resort, yet the Government detains thousands of people a year for months on end. We have tabled amendments to the Immigration Bill to impose a 28-day time limit.
Britain cannot continue to shy away from the atrocities inflicted on China’s Uighur population
Foreign affairs
By Yasmin Qureshi MP and Alistair Carmichael MP
Britain cannot continue to shy away from the atrocities inflicted on China’s Uighur population
Our government has done too little to acknowledge the atrocities facing the Uighurs
Boris Johnson says three million Hong Kongers can come to UK as he accuses Beijing of ‘clear and serious breach’ of China-UK agreement
Foreign affairs
Boris Johnson says three million Hong Kongers can come to UK as he accuses Beijing of ‘clear and serious breach’ of China-UK agreement
Boris Johnson has confirmed almost three million Hong Kong residents can now come to the UK amid a row over China’s decision to impose a controversial new security law.
WATCH: Sunak's recession warning; Johnson's track and trace pledge and MPs' fears over 'unsafe' return: catch up on the week in Parliament
Coronavirus
By Eleanor Langford
WATCH: Sunak's recession warning; Johnson's track and trace pledge and MPs' fears over 'unsafe' return: catch up on the week in Parliament
Catch up on the week in Parliament with our three-minute round-up
Is the 'hybrid' Parliament here to stay?
Coronavirus
By Sebastian Whale
Is the 'hybrid' Parliament here to stay?
With the introduction of a semi-virtual Parliament underway, some MPs are calling for the measures to be installed on a permanent basis. Sebastian Whale reports
Alistair Carmichael: Talk of 'Global Britain' is meaningless if we fail to stand up fro Hong Kong
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
Alistair Carmichael: Talk of 'Global Britain' is meaningless if we fail to stand up fro Hong Kong

Support is growing across Parliament for a more active response in the face of clear infringements by China on Hong Kong’s historic rights, writes Alistair Carmichael
'Mentioning human rights in meetings' will no longer cut it – we must hold the Saudi Regime to account
Foreign affairs
By Alistair Carmichael MP
'Mentioning human rights in meetings' will no longer cut it – we must hold the Saudi Regime to account

As the UK looks to leave the European Union and seeks to build trading partnerships elsewhere the question will be asked – what price is trade with Britain? Pursue trade deals with despotic regimes while ignoring their human rights abuses and we risk losing our good name in a fire sale, warns Alistair Carmichael MP.