In the
2011 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain stood in the
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency, where he finished fourth. At the
2015 United Kingdom general election he stood unsuccessfully in
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
Member of the Scottish Parliament In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain stood as the Conservative candidate for
Inverness and Nairn, coming second, with 7,648 votes (20.0%) to the
Scottish National Party's
Fergus Ewing. Although he failed to win that seat, he was nevertheless elected as an
additional member of the Scottish Parliament for the
Highlands and Islands region. In the
5th Scottish Parliament, he was the Scottish Conservatives' spokesperson for land reform. At the
2021 Scottish Parliament election, Mountain stood again in Inverness and Nairn, increasing his share of the vote to 27.7%. Ranked second on the regional list, he was re-elected, being among the four Conservatives entitled to a list seat. Mountain serves as the Convener of the Parliament's Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee. On 27 February 2025, he announced he would stand down at the
2026 Scottish Parliament election. ==Personal life==