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'A survey of voting intentions by the Ipsos MORI organisation revealed a massive swing to the SNP in both the constituency and list sections of the Holyrood voting system. In just three months, Labour has slipped from a 14-point lead over the SNP to being two points behind them. Just 28 per cent of voters said they would back Labour in a Holyrood election compared with 30 per cent who opted for the SNP.' Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman 1 st July 2006. |
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1. Stewart Maxwell MSP (Also standing in Eastwood constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Stewart Maxwell was born in Glasgow on the 24 th December 1963 and educated at King's Park Secondary School in Glasgow and the Glasgow College of Technology where he graduated with a BA Honours in Social Science. From 1986 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1992, he worked in the family business - Wilmax Ltd (Wholesale Meat Business). From 1988 to 1991 he was an Administrative Officerwith the Scottish Training Foundation and from 1993 to 1994 an Industrial Training Manager and from 1994 to 2000 a Senior Administrative Officer with Strathclyde Fire Brigade. From 2000 until 2003 he was Management Information System Project Manager at the Brigade Command and Control Centre of Strathclyde Fire Brigade. He is married with one daughter. Stewart joined the SNP in 1992 and was elected for the West of Scotland in 2003, he is a member of the Justice 2 Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee. Within the Scottish Parliamentary group Stewart is the Group Secretary. Stewart is a member of three Parliamentary cross party groups. They are; Tobacco Control, Cancer and Food. He is the Shadow Deputy Minister for Health and the SNP Deputy Health Spokeperson, with particular responsibility for Public Health. He steered his member's bill (Prohibition of Smoking in Regulated Areas (Scotland) Bill) through the Scottish Parliament.
Shadow Ministerial Posts September 2004 - Shadow Deputy Minister for Public Health Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish parliament election, Eastwood, 4,736 votes (12.18 %) 2003 Scottish parliament election, Third on SNP West of Scotland list, 50,387 votes (19.59 %) (elected) 1997 Westminster election, Eastwood, 4,137 votes (8.55 %) | ||
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2. Gil Paterson (Also standing in Clydebank & Milngavie constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Gil Paterson was born in Glasgow in 1942 and educated at Possilpark Secondary School in Glasgow. He worked for Forbes Brothes, Singer and Scottish Gas. He starting his own garage business in 1973 and ran it until his election in 1999. He joined the SNP in 1967 and has worked in all campaigns since. He has held many positions in the Party at all levels from branch to NEC including Vice Convenor Local Government and Vice Convenor Administration. He is a former regional councillor, was by-election candidate in Glasgow Central in 1980, and Westminster candidate in Strathkelvin in 1987. He contested Airdrie & Shotts in the 1999 Scottish Parliamentary Elections and was a Central Scotland Regional MSP for 1999 until 2003. In the 1999 parliament he was of the PLocal Government and Procedure Committees and Convenor of the Cross Party Group on Men's Violence against Women. He has two children and three grandchildren and is the owner of a very successful national company established in 1973. He enjoys reading, climbing, skiing, and snowboarding.
Shadow Ministerial Posts None Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish parliament election, Airdrie & Shotts, 5,232 votes (20.86 %) 2003 Scottish parliament election, Fourth on SNP Central Scotland list, 59,274 votes (22.53 %) 1999 Scottish parliament election, Airdrie & Shotts, 9,353 votes (28.16 %) 1999 Scottish parliament election, Fourth on SNP Central Scotland list, 91,802 votes (27.78 %) (elected) 1987 Westminster by-election, Strathkelvin & Bearsen, 3,654 votes (7.1 %) 1980 Westminster by-election, Glasgow Central, 2,122 votes (26.3 %) former Regional Councillor | ||
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3. Kenneth Gibson (Also standing in Cunninghame North constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Kenneth Gibson was born in 1961 and educated at Bellahouston Academy in Glasgow and Stirling University where he graduated with a B.A. in Economics. He worked from 1982 until 1986 as a Systems Development Officer from British Steel and from 1987 until 1988 at the Glasgow Garden Festival. From 1988 until 1999 he works as a Sales Representative and a Trainer in the Pharmaceutical Inductry. He served on Glasgow District Council from 1992 to 1996 after winning the Mosspark ward from Labour and Glasgow City Council from 1995 to 1999, handing over his Mosspark ward to his mother Iris in 1999, a rare case of a mother succeeding her son. In 1999 he was elected as the third MSP for Glasgow, but due to an increase in support for the SSP and Greens was not re-elected in 2003. In the 1999 parliament he was the SNP's spokesperson on Social Justice, Housing and Urban Regeneration and sat on the Local Government Committee.
Council positions 1998 - 1999 Leader of the Opposition on Glasgow City Council Shadow Ministerial positions May 1999 - June 2001 - Shadow Minister for Local Government Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 4,118 votes (19.12 %) 2003 Scottish parliament election, Fourth on SNP Glasgow list, 34,894 votes (17.96 %) (elected) 1999 Scottish parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 6,763 votes (25.93 %) 1999 Scottish parliament election, Third on SNP Glasgow list, 65,360 votes (25.50 %) (elected) 1995 Glasgow City Council election, Mosspark, 2,916 votes (76.78 %) (elected) 1992 Glasgow District Council election, Mosspark, 1,884 votes (62.88 %) (elected) 1987 Westminster election, Monklands East, 4,790 votes (12.9 %) | ||
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4. Dr Bill Wilson (Also standing in Renfrewshire West constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Bill Wilson was born in Paisley and educated at Shawlands Academy and Glasgow, Aberdeen and Queen's Universities. He worked for ten years as an environmental scientist at the Zoology department at Glasgow University, and is presently employed in information technology. Formerly active in the Labour party, Dr Bill Wilson joined the SNP in the late 1980s. He has previously stood as a candidate in Glasgow Anniesland, Glasgow Maryhill and Paisley & Renfrewshire North. On the 27 th September 2003 he challenged John Swinney (MSP for Tayside North) for the Scottish National Party leadership winning 111 votes (16.1 %) compared to 577 votes (83.9 %) for John Swinney. Bill says Scotland needs independence more than ever. An independent parliament would: Take control of Scotland's natural resources End poverty among Scotland pensioners Bring our soldiers home from the Iraq war. Recent electoral experience 2005 Westminster Parliament election, Paisley & Renfrewshire North, 7,696 votes (18.82 %) 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Glasgow Maryhill, 3,629 votes (19.89 %) 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Third on SNP Glasgow list, 34,894 votes (17.96 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Glasgow Maryhill, 7,129 votes (30.98 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Seventh on SNP Glasgow list, 65,360 votes (25.50 %) 1997 Westminster Parliament election, Glasgow Anniesland, 5,957 votes (17.11 %) | ||
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5. Stuart McMillan (Also standing in Greenock & Inverclyde constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Stuart has been a member of the SNP for 14 years. He was a founder member of the re-formed Port Glasgow Branch and recently joined the Greenock and Inverclyde Branch and has become the Branch Press Officer. Stuart was also a founder member of the Dundee Young Scottish Nationalists whilst studying in Dundee and was an active member of the Abertay Nationalists. Stuart was born in Barrow in Furness in 1972, graduated with an MBA (European) from the University of Abertay Dundee in 1997 and was married in 2003. After graduating, Stuart began employment as a Supply Analyst with IBM UK Ltd., then left to work for the SNP group in the Westminster Parliament before returning to Scotland in 2003 to be the Office Manager for Bruce McFee MSP. Stuart's studies took him to Angouleme and Toulose in France, Dortmund in Germany and Ronneby in Sweden. Stuart is a keen piper and currently plays with the London Scottish Pipes and Drums. He has busked around Europe twice visiting friends on the way. Stuart was the SNP candidate for Inverclyde at the Westminster Election in 2005. He increased the SNP vote by 5.6%, went from 3rd to 2nd place and achieved a swing of 2.5 % from Labour. Stuart will be contesting the Greenock and Inverclyde Constituency for the SNP at the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2007. Recent electoral experience 2005 Westminster election, Inverclyde, 7,059 votes (19.56 %) | ||
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6. Fiona McLeod (Also standing in Paisley South constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Fiona McLeod was born in 1957 in Glasgow and was educated at Bearsden Academy, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities wxhere she graduate with an MA Hons in Medieval History, Modern History and a Postgraduate Diploma in Librarianship. From 1983 until 1987 she worked as a School Librarian at Balfron High School and then from 1983 until 1987 as a College Librarian at Glasgow North College of Nursing, and from 1995 until 1998 at Huntershill Marie Curie Library Centre. She joined the SNP in 1874 and was the seventh West of Scotland MSP from 1999 until 2003. In the 199 parliament she was Shadow Deputy Environment Minister and a member of many Cross Party Groups including Young People, SPIKe (Information, Knowledge and Enlightenment), Women's Issues and SPREG (Renewable Energy). Before entering Parliament in 1999 she took a keen interest in community politics, particularly on issues relating to children and young people. She was Convener of Westerton Pre-School and Playgroup and Bearsden West Community Council. She was a founding member and volunteer worker in a Drop-In Café for teenagers and a Junior Youth Club. Fiona is married with one son and lives in Westerton, near Bearsden. Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Strathkelvin & Bearsden, 4,846 votes (13.71 %) 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Seventh on West of Scotland list, 50,387 votes (19.59 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Strathkelvin & Bearsden, 9,384 votes (22.14 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Fourth on SNP West of Scotland list, 80,417 votes (25.91 %) (elected) | ||
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7. Graeme McCormick (Also standing in Dumbarton constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Graeme McCormick was born on the 23 rd May 1954 and educated at Paisley Grammar School and Edinburgh University. He is a qualified solicitor and the founder and senior partner of Conveyancing Direct. He joined the SNP in 1992 and was the Press Officer for Bearsden Branch. He is married with two daughters. Talking about Independence, Graeme said "Our nearest neighbours to the east and west, with similar populations and fewer resources than us, both of whom gained Independence in the Twentieth Century, are now richer than the states (Sweden and the UK) of which they were formerly part. In 1974 I was a student at Edinburgh University when Gordon Brown was University Rector. Then, Norway and Scotland had a similar standard of living. At the 1974 elections, Scotland was within an ace of voting for Independence. Today Norway is internationally recognised as having the highest standard of living in the world. Scotland is 21st.
In 1967 my parents took me to Dublin for a holiday. My abiding memory was one of poverty, epitomised by children begging in the street outside the Mansionhouse. Last year the Irish Finance Minister announced that Ireland had overtaken the USA as the third richest country in the world. If you're Irish, you now have on average £120 a week more in your pocket than a Scot. Our nearest neighbours to the east and west, with similar populations and fewer resources than us, both of whom gained Independence in the Twentieth Century, are now richer than the states (Sweden and the UK) of which they were formerly part. There is only one significant thing which separates us from Norway and Ireland: That is Independence. They have it; we haven't!
What are we waiting for?"
Recent electoral experience 1997 Westminster election, Strathkelvin & Bearsden, 8,111 votes (16.32 %) 1995 Unitary Council election, candidate | ||
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8. Andrew Doig (Also standing in Paisley North constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Andrew lives in Renfrewshire with his wife Audrey, and 9 year old son, Iain, and currently works locally counselling people with addiction problems. Formerly he has worked in rehab services for people with epilepsy and also as a local radio news reporter. He joined the SNP in 1979 and has stood twice previously for Westminster, in Glasgow Pollok (1987), and in Clydesdale (1997). Within the SNP Andrew has held the position of Assistant National Secretary of the Party (1992-96) and has been an Elected Member of the Party's policy-making National Council (1985-98), where he was a veteran policy-maker. Andrew was also Depute Rural Affairs Spokesman for the SNP in the late 90's (1997-98). Andrew has an Honours Degree in Divinity from the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, one of the oldest theological colleges in the British Isles, and is a licensed Eucharistic Assistant within the Scottish Episcopal Church at St Johns Episcopal Church in Johnstone. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Contemporary Scotland, a Glasgow-based think tank which seeks to promote public debate on all aspects of modern Scottish life.
Recent electoral experience 2005 Westminster election, Paisley & South Renfrewshire, 6,653 votes (17.57 %) 1997 Westminster election, Clydesdale, 10,050 votes (22.13 %) | ||
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9. Dr Robin Easton OBE (Also standing in Strathkelvin & Bearsden constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Dr Robin Easton was born and brought up in Glasgow. He received his university education at Cambridge and Oxford before beginning a career as a teacher of French and German in Edinburgh. In 1983 he was appointed Rector of the High School of Glasgow and moved with his wife and two children to Bearsden where they have lived since that time. His time as Rector was both demanding and rewarding as the school had been obliged to become independent in order to remain in existence, and faced the challenges of building up its standards and improving and extending its facilities. He was fortunate to enjoy tremendous support from the whole school community and was encouraged to see the progress made over several years thanks to the efforts of a great many people. For services to education, he was awarded an O.B.E and made a Doctor of the University of Glasgow. He retired in August 2004 at the age of sixty and became involved in a number of voluntary activities, such as the Glasgow Children's Panel, Friendship House, the centre run jointly by the Milngavie Churches, and the Court of Glasgow University. His dog regularly taks him for long walks and he enjoys climbing Munros from time to time. Although he has voted for the Scottish National Party at every election for over twenty-five years, he only joined the party on his retirement, since he felt that, in public at least, a Head Teacher should be politically neutral. Since joining, he has been fully involved in local party activities and has campaigned at the General Election and several of the recent by-elections. He was delighted and honoured to be selected in May 2006 as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Strathkelvin & Bearsden. Having enjoyed a very satisfying career in education, Dr Easton has no personal political ambitions, but he is ambitious for Scotland. He longs to see our country take its rightful place amongst the nations of the world, in control of its own affairs and its own resources, and able to make its own contribution to tackling the world's problems, as is normal for a nation of Scotland's size. Dr Easton is convinced that the Scottish National Party must put Independence at the top of its agenda in all its campaigning. After all, the only reason for the Party's existence is to achieve Independence for Scotland and this is what makes the S.N.P. different from all the other major parties. It has the Big Idea which can appeal to all the people living in Scotland, whatever their age, sex, nationality, race or religion, and the challenge for us all is to spell out convincingly the reason why Scotland should 'be a nation again'. He believes that the S.N.P. has sometimes been sidetraced by other parties into campaigning on their agendas rather than sticking to its own, and, as a result, many people in Scotland are unaware of what the S.N.P. stands for and of the reasons why Scotland should be an independent nation. What better time to convince the people of Scotland of the case for independence than in 2007, three hundred years after Scotland so tragically lost her place amongst the nations of the world? Dr Easton is looking forward to the forthcoming election and will be enthusiastic, committed and determined to fight vigorously for Scotland's cause.. Recent electoral experience | ||
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10. James Robb (Only standing on the regional list) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| James Robb lives in Helensburgh. At the SNP's 71 st conference at Aviemore in September 2005 James Robb tabled a resolution, that was not passed, which would have committed the SNP to contest the 2007 Holyrood elections on the single issue of independence. With Jim Mather MSP, Mike Russell, former Chief Executive of the SNP, and Isobel Strong, councillor for Bute Central, James Robb was on the short list as SNP candidate for Argyll & Bute.
Recent electoral experience | ||
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11. Alex McLean (Only standing on the regional list) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
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Recent electoral experience | ||
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12. Anthony Gurney (Only standing on the regional list) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Tony has been an active member of the SNP for 10 years, many of them spent as convener of Ardrossan Branch. He has held various positions within the constituency organisation and is currently press officer and acting secretary. He has been closely involved with the Scottish and Westminster elections since 1999 managing to ensure that two of the branch members were elected to the Scottish Parliament. He has stood for election to North Ayrshire council on four occasions, latterly losing by just 24 votes whilst forcing the Labour incumbents into third place. Tony is married with two young children and works as a Lecturer in Computing Science.
Recent electoral experience 2005 Westminster election, North Ayrshire & Arran, 7,938 votes (17.96 %) 2004 North Ayrshire Council by-election, Ardrossan North, 316 votes (28.34 %) 2003 North Ayrshire Council election, Ardrossan North, 688 votes (39.77 %) 1999 North Ayrshire Council election, Saltcoats East, 509 votes (27.05 %) | ||
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8. Cllr Bill Martin (Also standing in Paisley South constituency) |
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| Scottish National Party | ||
| Bill Martin was originally selected as eighth on the West of Scotland list and as candidate for Paisley South, but he resigned in September 2006. He is the Councillor for Glenburn North in Renfrewshire Council. He held the ward in 2003 with 62.2 % of th vote. He is married to Caroline and they have a grown up daughter, Catherine, who studied at the University of Paisley. Bill took early retirement from a Senior Management post at Reid Kerr College where he worked for over 30 years after serving his apprenticeship with Babcock & Wilcox. His wife Caroline was raised in Eldersie, attended Wallace Academy and like many others her first job was with Stoddards. Years later she was the Practice Manager in one of the busiest surgeries in Johnstone. Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Paisley South, 7,737 votes (30.97 %) 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Tenth on SNP West of Scotland list, 50,387 votes (19.59 %) 2003 Renfrewshire Council election, Glenburn North, 1,029 votes (62.14 %) (elected) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Paisley South, 9,404 votes (30.68 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Eighth on SNP West of Scotland list, 80,417 votes (25.91 %) 1999 Renfrewshire Council election, Glenburn North, 1,281 votes (59.69 %) (elected) 1995 Renfrewshire Council election, ward 10, 943 votes (59.35 %) (elected) | ||
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