Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'I will never, ever, compromise on tuition fees!' A furious Dr Keith Raffan, Lib Dem MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife, after Jim Wallace ditched the Liberal's 'non-negotiable' election promises for a deputy's badge and a ministerial salary, May 1999.

Glenrothes

Candidates

	Labour	John MacDougall MP
	Scottish National Party	John Beare
	Conservative & Unionist	Belinda Don
	Liberal Democrat	Cllr Elizabeth Riches
	Scottish Socialist Party	Morag Balfour
	UK Independence Party	Paul Smith
	Pensioners Party Scotland	George Rodger

Candidates

The Labour candidate is John MacDougall who is currently MP for Central Fife. He was born in Dunfermline in 1947 and educated at Rosyth Dockyard Technical College, Glenrothes College and Fife Technical College. He worked as a biolermaker and then a shop steward beforebecoming a full time councillor. He was a Fife regional Councillor from 1982 until 1996 and a Fife Councillor from 1995 until 2001. He was leader of the former from 1987 until 1996 and the latter from 1995 until 2001. The successor to Henry Mcleish as leader of Fife Council, he also succeeded Henry Mcleish when he retired as a Westminster MP in 2001, beating Gordon Brown's candidate, Alex Rowley, for the nomination. Despite signing a motion against the Iraq war in 2002, he voted for the illegal invasion in 2003.

The SNP candidate is John Beare who joined the Glenrothes Branch of the SNP in 1999 and has held various positions in the organisation including Convenor of the Branch and is currently Convenor of the SNP in the Constituency. He is also a delegate to the SNP National Council. John lives in the constituency and is very involved with his local community. John held various positions in Fine Gael in Ireland including; Advisor to Front Bench Spokesperson on Europe, Constituency Chairperson, Chaired the International and Social and Legal Reform committees of Young FG, and was a member of its National executive for 4 years. He represented YFG in Europe and Latin America. He is also a member of Historic Scotland and Amnesty International. John has worked in the Construction industry for more than 20 years, working for Manufacturers, Consulting Engineers and Construction Firms. Projects include, ITN Studios in London and Intel and Hewlett Packard Plants. He has also been involved in the Development of Schools, Swimming Pools, Military buildings, Tourism facilities and Health Centres across Scotland. He is currently Constituency Assistant to Tricia Marwick MSP, and is based in her Constituency Office. A retired Rugby player, John is married with one son.

The Tory candidate is Belinda Don who is married with two children. Ms Don is Parliamentary Assistant to Struan Stevenson MEP. She also works with her husband in their company supplying business news from around the world. She helped organise the Tory European Election campaign this year.

The Lib Dem candidate is Elizabeth Ritches who was born in 1946 and after teacher training, she studied at the Open university. She works as a herb grower, is married with one son and lives in Edinburgh. He interests include travel, the arts, walking and the environment. She has been a Fife councillor since 1990 and currently represents Anstruther & East Neuk Landward. She is leader of the opposition on Fife council. She has contested Central Fife twice, coming third with 8.54 % at the 2001 Westminster election, and coming fifth with 6.74 at the 2003 Scottish parliamentary election. She was also third on the Lib Dem's list for Mid Scotland & Fife at the 2003 election.

The SSP candidate is Morag Balfour aged 31, who is the SSPÕs Peace and Disarmament spokesperson, Regional Chair of Mid-Scotland & Fife SSP and a member of the Iona Community. She is on the Executive of Scottish CND and is actively involved in Trident Ploughshares. She has taken part in numerous demos against war in Iraq. In her teens, Morag worked with one of the poorest communities in the USA. She has since worked as a support group facilitator for chronic pain sufferers. As well as her anti-nuclear work, Morag is a campaigner against the proposed landfill site at the former Westfield opencast.

The UK Independence Party candidate is Paul Smith who was born in Northumberland and then moved to Kent before moving to Scotland. He is a hairdresser in Glenrothes where he has lived and worked for more then twenty years with his wife and three daughters.

The Pensioners Party Scotland candidate is George Rodger. At the 2003 Scottish parliementary election he was first on the Pensioners Party list for Mis Scotland & Fife.

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Labour	22,160	57.93 %		22,800	59.02 %
	Scottish National Party	9,172	23.98 %		9,063	23.46 %
	Liberal Democrat	3,013	7.88 %		3,106	8.04 %
	Conservative & Unionist	2,858	7.47 %		2,623	6.79 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	1,017	2.66 %		999	2.59 %
	Others	31	0.08 %		43	0.11 %
Notional Labour win	Notional Labour majority	12,988	33.95 %		13,737	35.56 %

Local Government wards in the constituency

This consists of all but two wards of the old Central Fife constituency including ward 55 which was mostly in Kirkcaldy. The constituency also includes two wards from the old Kirkcaldy seat, one from the old Dunfermline East and one split between the old Dunfermline East and Kirkcaldy seats.