BBC Politics yesterday profiled the life of John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso – better known as John Thurso, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross:
John Thurso has spent a decade as an MP, but still regards himself as “an entirely accidental politician”.
Living in the “ruins” of his family castle in the northernmost part of Scotland, he might appear a gentleman amateur in the careerist world of Westminster.
Yet politics is in the blood of this grandson of former Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair.
Mr Thurso, the 57-year-old Lib Dem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, was the first hereditary peer to take his seat in the Lords, vacate it and then return to Parliament as a member of the Commons.
His footnote in constitutional history achieved, he has been voted in three times.
“It’s like moving from the Corinthian League to the Premier League,” he said of his move to the Lower House. “It’s a full-time job.”
His other full-time career was in the hospitality business, during which he managed a Paris hotel and ran the company which owned the spa group Champneys.
The piece is a canter through Thurso’s colourful life, from castle, to catering industry, to constituency.
For more on his early life, his work in the Lords, his decision to stand for the House of Commons, his relationship with his Liberal Leader grandfather, and on what he’d like to do next, read the full piece on the BBC News website.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Paul Simon: That's Why God Made the Movies
MI5 chief confirms Russian interference in Brexit referendum
How many councillors has Reform UK lost since the May 2026 elections?
Rose Runswick
Patricia Organ
Alex Macfie
Katharine Pindar
5 Comments
Shockingly, his awards for facial hair within the House aren’t mentioned.
At least you can see how impressive it is in that fitness photo, which frankly should be on every canvasser’s recruitment clipboard.
And a very good bloke he is too. Robson, is that the full beard or the Lord Lucan tash?
His dear old mum, whose name has slipped my memory, recently won a lifetime achievement award for local community work.
~alec
All Hail Our Viscount!
I vant a Prince!
~alec
“Mr Thurso … was the first hereditary peer to take his seat in the Lords, vacate it and then return to Parliament as a member of the Commons.”
What about Lord Home? First of all, he was an MP, then he was an earl, which he resigned in order to become prime minister, and then became a life peer when he left the Commons for the second time.