I’m standing to be Inverclyde’s next Labour MP

Last Summer, I was Labour’s candidate for Inverclyde in the snap General Election when, together with Labour and Trade Union activists, we did something extraordinary. We reduced an SNP majority of over 11,000 to just 384 and took Inverclyde within touching distance of returning a Labour MP to Westminster.

I’m asking for your support to be your candidate again. Together, we can finish what we started, give Inverclyde the Labour MP it needs, kick out the Tories and deliver a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn.

I joined the Labour Party in Greenock when I was a teenager because I believe in what our party stands for — socialism, solidarity and equality. I’ve only ever stood for election here, and there’s nowhere else I want to represent than the place where I was born and raised.

This is my home. It’s where my mum delivered countless babies as a midwife at the Rankin and then Inverclyde Royal Hospital. It’s where my dad did his apprenticeship at the Co-Op as a painter and decorator and then set up his own business. It’s where my grandfather learned his trade and was Union treasurer at Scotts. And one day it’s where I want to raise my own family.

I want Inverclyde to be the best place to live, work and raise a family in Scotland. And it can be. But we’re being let down by Tory and SNP Governments that push austerity on to our community, and an SNP MP who has run out of energy and ideas.

I’m asking for your support in this selection so we can win the next election and give Inverclyde the Labour MP we need.

I don’t want you to vote for me just because I was your candidate in June. I want your support because of my record of delivery.

I’ve shown time and again that I can deliver. I negotiated a 9% pay rise for my colleagues as a trade union rep, secured nearly £80 million in government funding for the charity I worked for and led my organisation’s first ever mission to the G20 Summit where we put decent jobs for all at the top of the agenda.

As your candidate in June 2017, I raised thousands of pounds to fund our campaign, built a team of activists and volunteers who have continued to campaign since the election, and achieved one of the biggest swings to Labour in Scotland.

I’m ready to keep up the momentum we’ve built since last Summer and hit the ground running if I’m selected. My commitment to you is that whether the election is in four months or four years, I will work every day to win Inverclyde back for Labour and deliver the Labour Government we need.

I’m looking forward to the campaign ahead, laying out my plans and speaking to all of you over the coming weeks.