The Right Honourable
The Viscount Thurso
PC
Official portrait, 2018
Chair of the Finance and Services Committee
In office
6 May 2010 – 8 May 2015
Preceded byStuart Bell
Succeeded byNick Brown
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
as a hereditary peer
31 October 1995 – 11 November 1999
Preceded byThe 2nd Viscount Thurso
Succeeded bySeat abolished [lower-alpha 1]
as an elected hereditary peer [lower-alpha 1]
19 April 2016
Preceded byThe Lord Avebury
Member of Parliament
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
In office
7 June 2001 – 30 March 2015
Preceded byRobert Maclennan
Succeeded byPaul Monaghan
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2003–2005Transport
2008–2010Business, Innovation and Skills
Personal details
Born
John Archibald Sinclair

(1953-09-10) 10 September 1953
Thurso, Caithness, Scotland
Political partyLiberal Democrats
SpouseMarion Sage
Children1 daughter, 2 sons
EducationEton College

John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso, PC (born 10 September 1953), known also as John Thurso, is a Scottish businessman, Liberal Democrat politician and hereditary peer who is notable for having served in the House of Lords both before and after a period in the House of Commons.

Born to the Sinclair family, Lord Thurso was educated at Eton College before entering management roles in the tourism and hospitality industry. He first joined Parliament in the House of Lords as a hereditary peer in 1995 and served until 1999, when he was among the majority of hereditary peers who were removed from Parliament following the House of Lords Act 1999.

Thurso was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross at the 2001 general election, becoming the fifth generation of the Sinclair family to represent the Caithness area in the House of Commons. He held the seat until he was defeated at the 2015 general election by the Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate, Paul Monaghan. During his time serving in the Commons, Lord Thurso was chair of the Finance and Services Committee from 2010 to 2015. In 2016, Thurso returned to the House of Lords after winning a by-election to fill a vacancy among the remaining Liberal Democrat hereditary peers. He became chair of VisitScotland in 2016 and later became Lord Lieutenant of Caithness in 2017.

Education and early career

Ancient hunting tartan of Clan Sinclair.

Thurso was born as John Archibald Sinclair to the high-profile Sinclair family and was educated in the Scottish town of Thurso and then at Eton College. He joined the Savoy Group as a management trainee in 1972, and worked for many years in the tourism and hospitality industry. He was a manager at the Lancaster Hotel in Paris (1981–1985) and founded the hotel at Cliveden (1985–1992) before becoming CEO of Granfel Holdings, owners of East Sussex National Golf Course (1992–1995). From 1995 until his election to Parliament in 2001, he was CEO of the Champneys Group. During his time in this job he featured in the TV documentary Trouble at the Top – Shape up with Lord Thurso.

House of Commons

Following his father's death in 1995, he took his seat in the House of Lords as the 3rd Viscount Thurso, where he became spokesman on tourism and later on food matters. Thurso spoke many times in the House of Lords in favour of Lords reform. His automatic right as a hereditary peer to sit in the House of Lords was abolished in 1999, and he did not attempt to remain in that capacity.[1] At the 2001 general election, he was elected to the House of Commons as the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.

He served as Liberal Democrat Scotland spokesperson under Charles Kennedy,[2] but was sacked by Sir Menzies Campbell. He has publicly gone against party policy by declaring his support for nuclear power,[3] and by his criticism of 24-hour drinking and wind power.

Lord Thurso was sworn of the Privy Council in 2014.[4] He lost his Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross seat at the 2015 general election to Paul Monaghan of the Scottish National Party (SNP). However, Lord Thurso had a good result in comparison with many Liberal Democrat candidates. Only four Scottish Liberal Democrat candidates were closer to winning their seats, including Alistair Carmichael, who was the only Liberal Democrat candidate to retain his seat at that year's general election.

Return to the House of Lords and later career

Following the 2015 general election, Thurso became a board member of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.[5] In April 2016, he won a by-election to fill a vacancy in the House of Lords following the death of Lord Avebury.[6] He won the support of all of the three members who were eligible to vote.[6] In 2017, Thurso was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Caithness.[7][8]

Thurso holds the presidencies of The Tourism Society[9] and the Academy of Food and Wine Service.[10] He is a fellow of the Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (HCIMA) (FIH) and served as its Patron for six years, until June 2003. He was President of the British International Spa Association.[11] On 7 March 2016, it was announced that Lord Thurso would become the chair of VisitScotland.[12]

Personal life

Thurso comes from a family of Liberal parliamentarians. The former constituency of Caithness and Sutherland had been held by his grandfather, Archibald Sinclair, from 1922 until 1945. Archibald Sinclair was the 1st Viscount Thurso and a Liberal Party leader. Thurso has been married to Marion for 26 years and they have a daughter and two sons. The family live at Thurso, Caithness.

As a patron of the Bluebell Railway 50th Anniversary Appeal, on 24 April 2009, at the railway's Horsted Keynes station Thurso carried out the ceremonial renaming of the Battle of Britain class locomotive named after his grandfather, Sir Archibald Sinclair, Secretary of State for Air during that battle.[13]

Arms

Coat of arms of John Thurso
Coronet
A Viscount's coronet
Crest
A Star of six points waved Argent rising from a Cloud Proper
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st, Azure a Ship at anchor her Oars erect in saltire within the Royal Tressure Or; 2nd and 3rd, Or a Lion rampant Gules; 4th, Azure a Ship under sail Or; over all dividing the quarters a Cross engrailed quarterly Argent and Sable all within a Bordure quartered Or and Gules the Last charged with three Stars of the First
Supporters
On either side a Red Deer Proper
Motto
Above the Crest: Ad Astra Virtus (Virtue knows no bounds); below the Arms: J'Aime Le Meilleur (I love the best)

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Parkinson, Justin (22 February 2011). "John Thurso: The hereditary peer who became an MP". BBC News. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  2. ↑ Uncredited (3 November 2001). "Kennedy boosts his frontbench team". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  3. ↑ Edwards, Rob (5 March 2006). "Nuclear power: splitting the LibDems and Labour". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  4. ↑ Lord Thurso was sworn of the Privy Council in 2014, gov.uk; accessed 8 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "ISPA Board members". Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Former Lib Dem MP John Thurso to return to House of Lords". BBC News. BBC. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Profile, burkespeerage.com; accessed 8 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Lord Lieutenant for Caithness: Viscount Thurso". 10 Downing Street. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  9. ↑ www.directtourismservices.co.uk, Direct Tourism Services -. "The Tourism Society – People in all the right places". www.tourismsociety.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "Academy of Food and Wine Service – The Academy is the Professional body for Front of House Service Personnel". www.afws.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "BISA Council and Associates". spaassociation.org.uk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2009.
  12. ↑ "John Thurso to chair VisitScotland". BBC News. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Profile bulleidsociety.org; accessed 8 May 2015.
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