In 1997 he was the first Labour Member of Parliament for the Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber constituency in Scotland until 2005, when the constituency was reformed to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, an election which he lost to Liberal Democrat candidate Danny Alexander.
In 1997 he was the first Labour Member of Parliament for the Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber constituency in Scotland and was re-elected in 2001. In 2005 the constituency was reformed to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, an election which he lost to Liberal Democrat candidate Danny Alexander.