James William Barclay (1832 – 26 February 1907) was a Scottish businessman, farmer and politician.
He was the son of George Barclay of Cults, near Aberdeen and his wife Margaret née Massie of Maryculter, Kincardineshire.
He continued to a member until 1871, and was leader of the "Progressive" grouping, allied to the parliamentary Liberal Party, that controlled the council.
However, his reputation as a Radical led to a split in the local party, and John Farley Leith was also nominated as a "Moderate Liberal".
[7][8] In January 1874 a general election was called, and Barclay was nominated as Liberal candidate for the Forfarshire constituency.