A former independent Highland councillor who defected to the Tories is the Lib Dem candidate to take on Kate Forbes at the next election.
Andrew Baxter, a former Kinlocheven sub-postmaster, hopes to claim a significant win when he takes on the SNP deputy first minister in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
He returned to Highland Council as a Lib Dem in November after a resounding Fort William by-election victory where he picked up 58% of the vote.
Mr Baxter served as an independent councillor in the region for years but was kicked out of the local authority’s non-aligned group.
He accused his colleagues of forming a “quasi-political group” and later joined the Tories.
The Highland councillor had previously worked as the parliamentary assistant for former Conservative minister Brandon Lewis.
Mr Baxter was criticised for standing in the Cromarty Firth ward at the 2022 local election for the Tories, more than 100 miles from his home.
The rival Lib Dem candidate in that contest even branded the Tories “pathetic” for this.
Mr Baxter hit back by saying “Lib Dem hypocrisy knows no bounds” and slated the party’s record in the local administration.
But he now serves as the chief of staff for new Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire MP Angus MacDonald – and is seen by Lib Dem chiefs as proof that the party is back to winning ways and appealing to a wider group.
The multi-millionaire Lib Dem MP pulled off a huge upset when he unseated SNP incumbent Drew Hendry last July.
Mr Baxter said: “So many people feel like nothing works anymore and that politicians aren’t on their side.
“I am committed to listening to the people and communities that make up Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch and giving my all to make sure they have the representation they deserve.”
Ms Forbes won 56% of the vote in 2021, while the Lib Dems finished third.
But her constituency forms part of what was once a Lib Dem stronghold prior to the nationalists winning a majority in 2011.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Andrew will be a great MSP.
“His astonishing by-election victory last November showed that local people trust him to fight their corner.
“This is now a top target for my party at next year’s Scottish Parliament election.”
Mr Baxter also previously ran his own consulting firm named Papagenos.
He helped supermarket giants Asda’s plans to build more stores in the UK.
And he also did work overseas for the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.
Mr Baxter was first elected as an independent councillor in 2012.
He had stood for the Tories five years earlier, but was unsuccessful.
His second council bid for the Conservatives in 2022 also failed.
Conversation