Constituency : Aberdeenshire West 1966-70
The 1966 election saw a modest further advance for the Liberals with the seat haul the highest it had been since the 1945 election, at 12. The Liberal Nationals were down to three.
James took West Aberdeenshire from the Tories at the second attempt with a majority of 1,195. He campaigned on the need for a development authority for North East Scotland.
James was a naval captain's son from Aberdeenshire. He was from a gentry family. He was educated at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and Cambridge. He became a naval officer and served in the last year of the war and observed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo. and made the acquaintance of the royal princesses when he served on the ship taking them to South Africa.. He then became an attache at the British Embassy in Moscow. He retired in 1954 when he inherited his father's estate. He was elected to the area executive of the N.F.U. He stood in 1964 immediately displacing Labour from second place.
James also campaigned for better road links and air and sea links with Scandinavia. He became Liberal spokesman on foreign and defence issues. He opposed raising fees for foreign students and introduced a bill for Scottish and Welsh devolution in 1967. He was sounded out about standing for Liberal leader but did not rate his chances and voted for Jeremy Thorpe with some misgivings,
James unexpectedly stood down in 1970 due to his wife's mental health issues and Laura Grimond failed to hold his seat.
James became chief executive of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland later that year. He also worked as a TV presenter for Grampian. He was awarded the OBE in 1984. He stood down in 1992 and became a campaigner for healthy living which included a parachute jump.
James was a keen mountaineer and conservationist.
He died in 2017 aged 90.
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