James Adams MSP: Reform? The Conservatives are more sensible

The North East Scotland MSP entered parliament when Douglas Lumsden stood down. We get to know Holyrood's newest member.

“I was always different at school – the red head with glasses who was interested in politics and drama. I suppose I was always going to end up on a stage of some sort.

“I’ve been a member of the party since 2009. I was 15 or 16 and my favourite subject was modern studies, so I thought I’d see what it was all about and here I am now. 

“None of my pals were into politics, and they still aren’t. My best pals from school are still my best pals and they very much keep me down to earth. They don’t care if I’m on the TV, speaking in parliament or whatever, they’ve just got the memes and gifs made up ready for me coming home.

“I was friends with [Scottish Greens MSP] Holly Bruce at school. She was in the year below me and we were in the Fraserburgh Junior Arts Society together. We’re going to have a drink and a catch-up soon. 

“The junior arts society is still going strong. My grandmother Margaret was very much into her musical theatre and was one of the original members. There was always music in the house, and I did my first stage production at the age of about six. I was a red squirrel in The Wind in the Willows. I loved doing shows like We Will Rock You and Bugsy Malone – we even had the splurge guns for that – and I was a panto dame, but I’ve not been in a show in well over a decade. 

“I grew up in a hotel in St Combs, near Fraserburgh. My parents – Mum was in the kitchen and Dad was front-of-house – bought it when I was about eight and sold it when I was in my teens. My dad always says he did it before me and my friends were old enough to drink at the bar.

“I put it down to why I like engaging with people now – I was surrounded by the people who worked there, and by customers, always talking to someone. I didn’t have brothers or sisters so I was used to speaking to adults. My first job was washing dishes in the kitchen and my parents employed some of my friends to do it too.

“I’ve had people coming up to me at the football and in the shops to talk about issues already – they’ve got no problem telling me if they think I’ve said something good or bad, and I’ll know if I’m doing a good job because they’ll let me know. My wife Melissa has banned me from going to Tesco with her because she says she can’t get round the shop. Although she also says it’s reduced the shopping bill because I’m not chucking biscuits in the trolley.

“The best things about being from Fraserburgh are the football team and fish and chips. Some of my family are fishermen, and I’m a director of Fraserburgh Football Club, as is my dad James. I’m mostly involved in the hospitality side of things, and you’ll always find me there on a match day with my club tie on. Holly’s dad and brother go too and I’ll talk to them there. I’m absolutely terrible at playing football myself. I was one of those kids that stared at the ball as it rolled past. I have fond memories of being shouted at from the sidelines to go after it.

Adams with his father and daughter | Contributed

“My experience of Scotland is very different to someone from the central belt. When you’re making policy, you need to make sure you make it with people and not for them.

“I think I’ve brought a lot of understanding of the problems in council life to the parliament. I was elected to Aberdeenshire Council in 2022 and it’s no secret that it’s one of the lowest-funded councils in Scotland. Part of my job is to try and stand up for the north east and get a favourable deal on funding. It seems at times we get the short end of the stick.

“Council is a lot more conciliatory than parliament. I wouldn’t say it’s as adversarial as the chamber. As much as I will hold the government to account, I am very willing to extend a hand if we can get a bit done for the north east.

“The Scottish Conservatives believe in smaller government, and that people are best-placed to make the choices about them, their families and where their money’s spent. We would like to see lower taxes and in Aberdeenshire we’ve been put in the difficult position of having to raise taxes due to the funding available to us. We want to have a good business climate so people can start companies and turn them into great success stories. 

“I think we are a bit more sensible than Reform in how we put things across. I’ve got friends and family who were tempted to or have voted Reform. People are allowed their own views. For me, sometimes the rhetoric that Reform comes out with is too on-the-nose. I like to think we are a sensible and steady voice.

“I’ve just had my leaving dinner with colleagues from NHS Grampian. I joined during Covid and was a clinical administrator. I’d been made unemployed from the Fraserburgh Enterprise Hub, which is a social enterprise helping businesses, and I never thought I’d work in the NHS but I was there for four-and-a-half years. I worked with a great bunch of people. 

Adams and family | Contributed

“I look back to Covid and think, ‘did that happen?’ I’ve got girls aged four and one and I wonder how I’ll explain it to them. Melissa and I got married during the pandemic, and the fortnight before the wedding we were isolating because we’d caught Covid. That was an experience – we lost our sense of taste and smell and couldn’t taste the wedding dinner. 

“Melissa is a biomedical scientist – she’s the clever one. She always knew this is where I wanted to go, and she’s been a fantastic support. We’ve been together 17 years – she was in Holly’s year at school. We’ve had to have some strange and serious conversations at home since I became an MSP about safety and security. Living in Fraserburgh, people will know where my house is. I’ve never had an issue and touch wood I never will, but I’ve got a responsibility to my family.”