Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'Ann Widdecombe's offer to support Ken Clarke, if he stands for leader, is a bit like Marshal Petain throwing in his lot with De Gaulle before D-Day. Clarke may want a broad church, but surely not that broad.' Iain MacWhirter in the Herald, 20 th June 2001.

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale

Candidates

	Labour	Cllr Sean Marshall
	Scottish National Party	Andrew Wood
	Conservative & Unionist	David Mundell MSP
	Liberal Democrat	Patricia Kenton
	Scottish Socialist Party	Sarah McTavish
	UK Independence Party	Anthony Lee

Candidates

Labour candidate, Cllr Sean Marshall is 40 years old and was born & brought up in Eastriggs, Dumfriesshire. After leaving Annan Academey he went to work at the Chapelcross Power Station near Annan. He is a former Trade Union Official at the Power Station and is a member of the TGWU. He was first elected in 1999 to Dumfries & Galloway Council for the Chapelcross Ward when he overturned a 400 vote Liberal Democrat majority (he was re-elected in 2003 with an increased share of the vote) and since 2003 has been Deputy Leader of the Labour Group and is the Group's Media Spokesman. He lives with his wife Alison and their two young children in Dumfriesshire and his interests outside politics include community football, poetry and journalism.

The SNP candidate is Andrew Wood. Andrew joined the SNP in 1996, taking over the convenership of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency in 1997, South of Scotland Regional convener in 2000, working closely with Alasdair Morgan MSP. He has held a number of posts, serving on the community council, school board, NFUS and Independent farming group. Andrew has reduced his farming commitments and is now a Director and Agricultural Consultant for Scotmas Ltd, concentrating on developing purification of water and microbiological digesters and preservatives within both the UK and International markets. He is a married father of 5 girls 1 boy and enjoys family life and the grandfather status which two grandchildren bring. Andrew is a true supporter of rural pursuits and environmental issues, having petitioned the Scottish Parliament on animal welfare and small business support. He has worked with the Welsh Mountain Shepherds, in lobbying Brussels over SAP payments. In 2003 Andrew contested the Dumfries constituency in the Scottish Parliamentary election, raising SNP to third position.

The Tory candidate is David Mundell who was born in Dumfries in 1962. He was educated Lockerbie Academy, Edinburgh University where he studied law, and business administration at Strathclyde University. David Mundell worked in private legal practice in Glasgow before joining BT as Group Legal Adviser for Scotland in 1991. Subsequently a member of the Senior Management Team of BT Scotland, David was, until 1999, the Company's Head of National Affairs. He has been a Tory MSP for the South of Scotland since 1999. He contested Dumfries twice for the Scottish Parliament, coming second, with 27.2 % in 1999 and with 36.6 % in 2003 when he reduced Dr Elaine Murray's majority to 1,096. David Mundell was elected as the 7 th regional list MSP for South of Scotland in 1999 and the 5 th regional list MSP in 2001.

Lib Dem candidate, Patsy Kenton, was born in 1954 and is a Registered General Nurse. She has two sons and works as a Managing Director. She is a Founder Member of the Scottish Council on Ageing and a member of the Scottish Secretariat of the UN Year of the Older Person. Her interests include Small Business, Age Issues, Health, Rural Affairs, riding, theatre, concerts and reading. At the 1999 Scottish parliamentary election she contested Moray, coming fourth with 9.1 %. At the 2001 Westminster election she contested Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber, coming third with 22.2 % and at the 2003 Scotish parliamentary elected she contested the same constituency, coming fourth with 16.2 %. In 2003 she was also second on the Lib Dem Highland list.

The SSP candidate is Sarah McTavish who works for South Lanarkshire Social Work Department and is a committed socialist. She is fighting for a national minimum wage of £8 an hour for all workers, including 16-21 year olds, and will not rest until the basic state pension is raised to £160 per week and linked to earnings. Sarah is opposed to ScotlandÕs weapons of mass destruction at Faslane naval base on the River Clyde, and wants our troops brought home from Iraq immediately.

The UK independence Party candidate is Tony Lee. Tony is a mature businessman who has lived in Scotland for the past 13 years. His business interests are manufacturing and farming.

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Labour	16,068	37.42 %		16,741	37.02 %
	Conservative & Unionist	10,184	23.71 %		12,282	27.38 %
	Liberal Democrat	9,508	22.15 %		9,068	20.05 %
	Scottish National Party	6,240	14.53 %		6,194	13.70 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	765	1.78 %		733	1.63 %
	Others	170	0.40 %		98	0.22 %
Notional Labour win	Notional Labour majority	5,254	12.24 %		4,359	9.64 %

Local Government wards in the constituency

This constituency consists of 14 wards from the previous Dumfries constituency, three wards mostly from Galloway & Upper Nithsthdale but partly in Dumfries, four wards from Tweedale, Ettrick & Lauderdale, and three wards from Clydesdale. This constituency has wards from three different local government areas - 17 from Dumfries & Galloway, five from Scottish Borders and three from South Lanarkshire.