Educated at Radley College, Halcro Johnston studied at Coventry University and the University of Exeter, where he received a BA (Hons) in Ancient History. He was previously employed by the Financial Times in London and, between 2003 and 2007, he worked as an adviser to a number of Scottish Conservative MSPs, before moving to a position at Holyrood magazine.[2][3][4]
Following the resignation of Douglas Ross to take up a position as a Member of the UK Parliament after his election in the 2017 general election, Halcro Johnston became a Member of the Scottish Parliament on the Highlands and Islands regional list on 20 June 2017;[5] with the party having gained 44,693 votes in the region at the 2016 election.[6]
After entering the Scottish Parliament, he was appointed by party leader Ruth Davidson as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Shadow Minister for Jobs, Employability and Training.[7] He served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Tourism, being appointed by leader Douglas Ross in 2020.[8]
In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Halcro Johnston stood in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency, finishing in second place. He was re-elected on the Highlands and Islands regional list with the Scottish Conservatives increasing their number of MSPs in the region from three to four.
Notes
^Normally, regional MSPs do not have individual predecessors and successors. However, Ross retired his seat during a sitting parliament so was succeeded by Halcro Johnston.
