99 words to get going

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to stand as a Scottish Labour Party candidate for the elections to the European Parliament on 4th June 2009. Anyone seeking to become a Labour Party candidate running for election is asked to produce a short "personal statement" summing up his/her beliefs and motivations. So when I asked to be given the opportunity to put myself forward as a Labour candidate in Scotland for the European Parliament, I tried to summarise 25 years of personal thinking and action in the following 99 words:

"Labour is a progressive force which takes it strength from the social nature and values of human beings. We are all citizens of a community and we get our sense of who we are from how we interact with others, whether at the local, Scottish, UK or European level. I believe that we can re-engage the party membership by redressing the balance in the European debate from a focus on markets to a focus on community. As an experienced policy maker and campaigner, I believe that I am well equipped to represent the Scottish people and the Labour Party".

Now I have the chance to put these 99 words into action and re-engage Scottish voters, not just Labour Party members, in the European debate. I will use this opportunity to build for a progressive Social Europe safeguarding employment and living standards against the recession. We must work together to get through the world financial crisis. There is no Scotland-only solution.

That is why the elections in 4 weeks time really matter. I will update this blog regularly over the course of the campaign. And feel free to leave your comments on what you believe are the main issues facing voters on 4th June.