Paul Monaghan

A snap general election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May on 18 April 2017, and Monaghan was reselected by the SNP as their candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. However, Monaghan lost his seat to the Liberal Democrat candidate Jamie Stone at the general election on 8 June, by 2,044 votes.

In April 2016, Monaghan highlighted the lack of transparency afforded by the UK Government around plans to transport dangerous nuclear materials that could be used for nuclear weapons, from Scotland to the United States.

He was elected to the House of Commons in 2015, polling 15,831 individual votes or 46.3% of the cast vote, defeating the long-serving Liberal Democrat MP John Thurso by 3,844 votes.

Following his election in 2015, Monaghan supported two campaigns being championed by the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS).

In July 2015, Ian Murray of the Labour Party, referred to Monaghan's contact with one user on Twitter, objecting to Monaghan having "chosen to not only follow but admire and encourage somebody who has professed deeply racist views". Monaghan tweeted in November 2012 about Israel's military action in Gaza and accused "the proud Jewish race" of persecuting Palestinians. A similar message was posted a few days later. The Jewish Chronicle contacted him in August 2015 about the posts. Monaghan, by that point an MP, deleted the tweets and issued an apology. He tweeted in 2013, that Westminster had become "absolutely repugnant – increasingly feels like early days of the Third Reich".

In June 2015, he was one of 125 MPs who employed a relative; his brother worked as a communications manager and was authorised by Monaghan to be paid 225 hours of overtime payments during one financial year.

Monaghan was employed as Head of Planning and Development at Northern Constabulary. In 2008, the force had detained him for a few hours as part of their investigation into an internal email; they suspected Monaghan had been involved with circulating a questionnaire in response to an internal review that was seeking to reduce the divisional areas from eight to three. After six years working for the force, this triggered his resignation.

Monaghan joined the Scottish National Party in 1994 and has held roles within their Wester Ross branch.

In the mid-1990s, he was employed with his family-run care home, the Balmoral Lodge Eventide Residential Home at Strathpeffer. The care home was deregistered in June 1995. Prior to this several of the twenty members of staff had left or were suspended before then making complaints. The police had investigated a complaint and released a statement that nothing of a criminal nature was revealed.

Paul William Monaghan (born 1965) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross from the 2015 general election until 2017, when he lost his seat to Jamie Stone of the Liberal Democrats.