At the February and October 1974, and 1979 general elections, he stood unsuccessfully for the party in Dundee West.
[2] At the time he was described as a student teacher and had previously been vice-chair of the Perth and East Perthshire SNP Association.
He stood unsuccessfully in Dunfermline West at the 1983 general election and Perth and Kinross in 1987, and also wrote a column in the Scots Independent newspaper.
[2] In 1989 Fairlie was selected to stand again in Perth and Kinross,[4] but he resigned from the SNP in 1990, objecting to its "Independence in Europe" slogan and support for the European Community.
[5] On 3 August 2021, The Herald announced that Fairlie had joined Restore Scotland (now Sovereignty).