Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'Much of the Additional Cost Allowance went on repairing constituency homes - one invoice from 2005 shows Gordon Brown spent £4,471 on renovating his kitchen.' BBC News, 23 rd May 2008.

Dundee West

Candidates

	Cllr Jim Barrie
	Scottish National Party
	Jim Barrie is well-known - and well-respected - as a Dundee Councillor. He has represented the West End since the Logie By Election in August 2000 when he won the seat with a large swing from Labour. He increased his majority in Logie in 2003 and in May 2007, was elected for the West End multi-member ward where the SNP gained the highest number of first-preference votes. But what drives Jim to throw his hat in the ring as SNP parliamentary candidate for Dundee West? "It would be true to say that I only did so after sounding out a lot of people whose opinions I trust," says Jim. "It's one thing being a local Councillor but to seek to represent half of the entire city at Westminster is a whole different ball game. "However, friends and supporters were clear that they felt I could do a good job for the city." Jim has an immense amount of valuable experience as a former civil servant and merchant navy radio officer to add to his eight years as a councillor. He keeps his feet firmly on the ground and in touch with all local issues and presently serves as Convenor of the 13-strong SNP Group on the city Council. Born and bred in Dundee, Jim attended Rockwell Primary and Harris Academy. He is married to Janet, who is from Dundee, and they live in the constituency. Their two children, a son and daughter, are both now grown-up. Jim knows Dundee inside out and keeps abreast of issues that concern local people and works closely with MSP Joe FitzPatrick, who represents Dundee West at Holyrood. So what was it that brought Jim into an active role in politics in the first place? For 24 years he worked in government communications at GCHQ where he was a union rep. The right to be a member of a trade union was under attack by the Thatcher government and on the day he left, in 1994, he decided to join the SNP in protest. He had been considering joining the party for some time having seen at close range how the Conservative government was asset stripping and decimating Scottish industry. As well as his strong belief that Scottish Independence will massively improve the way the country is governed and create huge opportunities for Scots to improve their lives, Jim is also deeply concerned about the impact of crime in the local community and is a member of the Tayside Police Joint Board and a former Board member of Crimestoppers Scotland. With family members having served in various Scottish regiments including the Black Watch, Jim is particularly keen that the historic identity of the regiments should be retained and re-instated as soon as possible. "Dundee is a fantastic place to live. It has so much going for it but it also has lots of problems. I passionately care about the city and would be honoured to be given the chance to do something for Dundee in parliament. I am sure that with my experience I could provide first-class representation for Dundee West." Recent electoral experience 2007 Dundee City Council election, West End, 1,326 First preference votes (21.90 %) (elected) 2003 Dundee City Council election, Logie, 475 votes (31.60 %) (elected) 2000 Dundee City Council by-election, Logie, 351 votes (38.03 %) (elected)
	Who?
	Conservative & Unionist
	Recent electoral experience.
	Who?
	Labour
	Ministerial Posts: Recent electoral experience
	Who?
	Liberal Democrat
	Recent electoral experience

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Labour	18,761	50.29 %		18,461	49.19 %
	Scottish National Party	10,351	27.75 %		10,683	28.46 %
	Liberal Democrat	3,435	9.21 %		3,423	9.14 %
	Conservative & Unionist	3,320	8.90 %		3,430	9.20 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	1,439	3.86 %		1,534	4.09 %
Notional Labour win	Notional Labour majority	8,410	22.54 %		7,778	20.72 %

Links

• Dundee SNP
  
  
• Cllr Jim Barrie (Scottish National Party)
  
  

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