You may know me from Portavadie, from Tarbert, or from when I stood for Freedom Alliance in South Kintyre and you can read about that campaign on my blog: I'm standing for freedom again because we're all environmentalists and concerned for animal welfare nowadays but the net zero nonsense is ruining the rural economy and someone on the Council has to have the courage to say so.

Full statement

Holyrood and Westminster have little knowledge and less care for rural communities; the people of beautiful Kintyre and its lovely islands deserve a caring councillor familiar with the land, the sea, transport, education, healthcare and local livelihoods. If you elect me, my priorities will be to aid the farmers in their struggle for survival, to boost the local economy with a push for jobs and housing—and ferries—and to collaborate with the Community Councils. As local people you understand your local situation better than anyone and the first job of a councillor is to listen to what you want and explore ways to facilitate that, rather than imposing a top-down fix that pleases no-one but government bureaucrats or contractors. Having lived, worked and travelled to and from Hebridean islands for years, I understand both their beauty and their associated challenges. As an organic gardener and hen-keeper, I know the joy and the hard work of smallholding; as a dinghy and yacht sailor, I love and respect the sea and its ancient ecological relationships with coastal people. As a registered Scottish teacher and carer, I know the real commitment good people put into these professions and also the dedication necessary to keep a small business in profit. My party, Freedom Alliance, has policies operating at a national level (we’re neutral on Scottish independence, although definitely for decentralisation and so against re-joining the EU) however at the local level we also are concerned about informed consent both in healthcare and in the controversial issue of social transitioning of schoolchildren—which should never happen without parental knowledge and should not impact on the safety and privacy of girls at school, just as that of adults should not violate single sex provision of places where women sleep, shower and undress. We do not believe that parents or children should be persecuted for enjoying their Human Rights such as Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion. As a party we are truly inclusive and committed to diversity but above all to the rule of law—which means no one has the right to use their freedom to take away that of others.