15th Lord Reay

Lord and Lady Reay (Mia)

Hugh William Mackay, the 14th Lord Reay, was born in Edinburgh and the only son of Aeneas Alexander Mackay, the 13th Lord Reay, and his wife Charlotte. Brought up in the Borders, the then Master of Reay was living in Holland when his father died in 1963, passing on his titles and role as a representative Scottish peer.

Educated at Eton College and later at Christ Church, Oxford, The 14th Lord Reay entered the House of Lords initially as a cross-bencher, playing a prominent role in the abolition of capital punishment in 1965. He joined the Liberals soon afterwards but joined the Conservatives in 1972.

From 1973, he sat as one of eight peers nominated to serve in the European Parliament until the first elections in 1979. After this he was nominated to the Council of Europe, in which he served until 1986 – during which time he and his family lived in the Dutch family home in Ophemert. On his return to England he was appointed as a House of Lords whip by Margaret Thatcher, and in 1991, John Major appointed him Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry.   

As one of the few hereditary peers to survive Tony Blair's Parliamentary reforms in 1999, until his death Lord Reay worked tirelessly as a Conservative Peer to serve causes dear to his heart. Fueled by his desire to protect the countryside from what he deemed the ‘greatest scourge of the countryside in our time’ he campaigned tirelessly to cease the construction of wind turbines in the most beautiful parts of the country. 

This battle culminated in the launch of his (Minimum Distance from Residential Premises) Bill – a bill which detailed a provision for a minimum distance between wind turbines and residential premises according to the size of the wind turbine. The campaign against onshore wind was a subject of immense importance to him, and it was with great sadness that due to ill health, he was unable to present this Bill to the House for its third reading. 

Above all, Lord Reay was a country-man – he was an ardent fisherman and supported and participated in all forms of country life and sport. He was well known throughout his life for his sharp sense of dress - and was a fervent reader and formidable bridge opponent.