He attended Anderson High School in Lerwick, Shetland, and holds a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Napier College in Edinburgh.

After the resignation of his friend and former ministerial colleague Nicol Stephen, Scott declared his candidacy for the leadership of the Scottish Liberal Democrats on 7 July 2008 at Lerwick harbour, surrounded by a group of men dressed as Vikings.

[8] He claimed the poor showings were in part due to the coalition deal which saw the Liberal Democrats form a government with the Conservatives after the 2010 United Kingdom general election.

In the run-up to the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, Scott was a keen advocate of a "No" vote and also called for recognition of "the Northern Isles' right to determine their own future.

"[9] At the Liberal Democrat party conference in 2013, he put forward a motion with fellow MSP Liam McArthur to recognise the islands had a "separate right to self-determination".