Steve has lived on South Ronaldsay in Orkney for almost 20 years with his wife Sarah and son Sami, after re-locating from Edinburgh to start a family and begin two small businesses: Gerraquoy Organic Farm and Orcadian Wildlife. In May 2017 he was elected to Orkney Islands Council, and was the first mainstream political party candidate ever to be elected there – all other 20 Councillors are Independent. Steve now sits on over 20 committees, and for example is Vice-Chairman of the Orkney Health and Care Committee, and a voting member of the Integration Joint Board. Successes to date with the help of Parliamentary colleagues have included winning an extra £5.5 million for fair-ferry funding for Orkney; persuading OIC to adopt the UN Principles of Responsible Investment for its Pension Fund; and succeeding in the appointment of a Climate Change Officer within Orkney Islands Council.
Steve was also instrumental in the declaration of a Climate Change Emergency by Orkney Islands Council in May 2019, and is looking forward to being closely involved in agreeing exactly what detailed carbon-reduction actions this might generate in the immediate future.