One of the most recognisable backbenchers in the current Parliament, Carmichael chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee — a role that earned him Farmers Weekly's Farming Champion of the Year award in October 2025 for his sustained pressure on the government over the Family Farm Tax. His sole rebel vote this Parliament came in March 2025, when he broke with the Liberal Democrats to vote against the Tobacco and Vapes Bill at third reading, bucking his party's support for the generational smoking ban. Beyond that, he votes with his party 99.7% of the time. Recent coverage highlights a separate local priority: he has been pressing for a discounted electricity tariff for Orkney and Shetland, framing a government trial on turbine constraint payments as the product of his direct lobbying.
His voting participation sits at 52% — below the Commons average — though for an MP representing the UK's most remote constituency, that figure needs context. His stance profile marks him as strongly aligned with parliamentary and Lords scrutiny, consumer protection, and climate action, but notably out of step with his party on fiscal questions, voting with the fiscal-responsibility position only 11% of the time. He speaks frequently on economy and jobs, the environment, and agriculture — topics that map directly onto his committee chair role — and deviates above his party average on public health and assisted dying access.
Carmichael has held Orkney and Shetland since 2001 and served as Scottish Secretary under the coalition government. His EFRA chairmanship gives him formal institutional leverage beyond his voting record, and his committee work is where much of his recent impact registers. Recent news sentiment is moderately positive, with agriculture and MP performance coverage scoring highest.
