New Lib Dem MP Angus MacDonald assembled a £104k campaign war chest to beat the SNP’s Drew Hendry to the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat
New Lib Dem MP Angus MacDonald assembled a massive £104,000 war chest for his general election campaign – an amount rarely if ever spent in a Highland election.
He beat the SNP’s Drew Hendry to the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat in what turned out to be the longest seat count of July’s general election.
After multiple recounts and the last seat in the UK to declare, Mr MacDonald won with a majority of 2160 votes – a 22.7 per cent rise in his party’s vote share.
Mr MacDonald is a successful businessman and he acknowledges those contacts helped him tap up donors to support his campaign.
The largest donation of £20,000 came from Broadland Properties Ltd which is registered in Scarborough and reportedly owns Hever Castle in Kent – Anne Boleyn’s birthplace and childhood home.
The next largest sums came from three individuals – Donald Michie, Margaret Falconer and Ivor Dunbar who each donated £10,000.
The remainder ranged from Alexander Marshall’s £7400 to £2000 from a J Torquil Macalpine.
Mr MacDonald’s win was also significantly helped by a major boundary change that saw Mr Hendry lose part of his former constituency and add new areas on the west coast..
Those areas also happened to be where Mr MacDonald was best known and combined with disaffection with the SNP no doubt played a major part too.
Speaking to The Times, Mr MacDonald attributed his success to studying the election strategies of Presidents Obama and Clinton and having the funds to mount a professional campaign.
He said: “I was a senior figure in the business community and have raised extensive funds in recent years.
“I spent time studying how to win elections and have also read extensively about how [Barack] Obama and [Bill] Clinton won their campaigns [for the US presidency]. l learnt the importance of a really good and professional campaign.
“I identified the money we needed, appointed campaign staff, built relationships with the press and sorted out advertising on billboards.”
