Liam McArthur

Liam Scott McArthur (born 8 August 1967) is a Scottish politician serving as Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, alongside Annabelle Ewing, since May 2021. A member of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Orkney since 2007.

Early life and education
McArthur was born on 8 August 1967 in Edinburgh. In 1977, at the age of ten, he moved to Sanday, Orkney with his family.

McArthur attended Sanday Junior High School, then Kirkwall Grammar School, where he boarded at the Papdale Halls of Residence throughout the week. Whilst at Kirkwall, McArthur developed an interest in sport including football, which became a lifelong passion. McArthur went on to represent Orkney in the junior inter country matches against Caithness and Shetland.

McArthur then spent a year in Mexico as an American field service student, before attending the University of Edinburgh to study politics. At university McArthur captained the football first team and represented Scottish Universities in the UK finals.

Political career
McArthur had previously worked as an aide to Jim Wallace in the House of Commons and as Special Adviser to the Deputy First Minister in 2002. When Wallace stepped down at the 2007 Parliament election, McArthur was chosen to replace him as the Lib Dem candidate and was elected. McArthur was subsequently re-elected in 2011 and again in 2016 with a substantially increased majority.

After being re-elected in the 2021 election, McArthur was elected as one of the two Deputy Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament.

Assisted dying
In 2024 McArthur introduced a bill on assisted dying in the Scottish Parliament. He had consulted on this subject in 2021. The first such bill had been attempted in 2010.

Personal life
McArthur met his wife Tamsin when working in Brussels. She was working for law firm Clifford Chance.

His brother Dugald was left quadriplegic after a rugby accident in 1996.

Career timeline

 * 1986–1990: University of Edinburgh, Politics (MA)
 * 1990–1992: Researcher, Jim Wallace MP (Orkney and Shetland), House of Commons
 * 1992–1993: Trainee, European Commission (External Affairs Directorate)
 * 1993–1996: Account Executive, various European Union public affairs consultancies
 * 1996–2002: Associate Director, APCO Worldwide and APCO Europe
 * 2002–2005: Special Adviser to Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Jim Wallace MSP (Orkney)
 * 2005–2006: Director, Greenhaus Communications
 * 2006–2007: Self-employed political consultant
 * 2007–present: Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney
 * 2007–2008: Shadow Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism
 * 2008–2011: Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Environment, Rural Development and Energy
 * 2011–2021: Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Education and Energy
 * 2021–present: Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament