Gary Mulvaney – relaxed, interested, sits back in his chair and plays it as it comes. If it is possible to be open-minded and interested in change while not being troubled by uncertainties or indecision, this is who he is.

The Scottish Conservative candidate for Argyll & Bute, Mulvaney is Leader of the county’s Conservative Group of Councillors and an accountant with a family business in Helensburgh – a car dealership – to run.

Familiar with both political and business authority, he could be expected to be the archetypal Conservative – which is far from the case.

Here is a man who is curious, loves a good debate and has always had a keen interest in different political philosophies. Noting that: ‘My teenage years were set against a backdrop of left and right; east and west, the Cold War…’ he admits to having once ‘f’lirted with Communism’. That indicates an inherent leaning towards egalitarianism and fairness. He moved away from this possible allegiance because he came to see that, theoretically attractive as it may be, Communism cannot easily accommodate ‘living, feeling human beings’.

From these various explorations and conclusions he was eventually drawn to one-nation Conservatism because: ‘I always liked the way that the Conservative party encouraged ambition, effort and responsibility, whilst at the same time providing a safety net for those in need. Success should be applauded not decried. Ultimately we enter this world with nothing and leave with nothing – it is up to you, your family and friends to make life fulfilling and leave your mark’.

In another nod to his broad-spectrum political interests, he says that: ‘the personal values of reward, responsibility and fulfillment are part of my being. Tony Blair would call them his “irreducible core” ‘ – and laughs at the ironic reference to the discredited former Prime Minister.

Within the world of Argyll’s local government he likes and respects Councillor Ellen Morton, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group of Councillors and has friends in the Labour party. This too is evidence that Mulvaney does not confine himself to outdated tribal politics.

In his opposition to Europe he is a prey to the contradictions of his party.  The Conservative opposition to membership of the European Union – which Mulvaney espouses – is based largely on the grounds of the expensive inefficiencies of big government with its ignorance of and insensitivity to the integrity of regional cultural distinctiveness.

The argument for staying out of Europe rests upon the greater effectiveness and lesser wastefulness of running your own show, fine-tuning policy and law to a profoundly known culture.

In relation to Scotland, this raises question about the foundation of the Conservative opposition to Scottish independence.

Mulvaney’s own unionism seems to be born both from his view of economic realities and from his respect for the cornerstones of the British political system.

On the (unwritten) British constitution he says: ‘I like its flexibility and adaptability. I do, though, think that our politicians exercise power only on a leasehold basis and that any dilution or transfer of that power should only happen with the express consent of the British people’.

He also likes the strength of the British political system, which he sees as: ‘its decisiveness – you get strong government. I have always taken the view that it is better to make 20 decisions and get 2 wrong than get everything diluted to the lowest common denominator and do nothing. The 2008 budget in Holyrood where 2 Green MSPs out of 129 virtually derailed a budget was ridiculous’.

In line with his distrust of big government, he would like to see the various parliaments reduced in size. ‘We have too many politicians in this country. Time to look at the number of MPs and MSPs’.

On defence – reliably a Conservative issue, Mulvaney is unhesitatingly in favour of the nuclear deterrent. His commitment to this has been reinforced by the emergence of the threat of Iran’s and North Korea’s acquisition of a nuclear capacity, which could be translated into aggressive weaponry.

He is contemptuous of Gordon Brown’s damaging tinkering at the edges of the Trident II commitment. In his own typically decisive style he fells that we either have a real deterrent or we don’t have any.

In his view, Brown’s reduction of the Trident submarine contract from 4 to 3 is the worst of both worlds. He sees this ‘decision’ as saving very little by the time that raised unit costs for the remaining 3 to be built are taken into account. He also sees the viability of the deterrent itself threatened by this reduction from what has been seen as its irreducible core (that phrase again – but this time we’ve borrowed it ourselves).

He notes that with 4 submarines, one is always at sea on patrol; one is at readiness to take over; one is working up with a crew; and one is in refit. He accepts the wisdom that the removal of 1 of the 4 cuts the capacity dangerously, leaving no leeway to respond to emergencies. These do happen – as with the incident in early February this year when HMS Vanguard collided with the French nuclear submarine Le Triomphant, putting Vanguard out of action for 8 months for repairs.

Mulvaney’s other concern on this matter is the impact which the cancellation of the Trident programme would have on employment and the local economy in and around his home town of Helensburgh.

Faslane on the Gare Loch, now the UK’s submarine base, employs around 10,000 people, with the logistics base of Coulport round the corner on Loch Long.

Mulvaney says, frankly, that he can see no future for Faslane without Trident.

Asked what he sees as the single greatest damage done to the UK by the Labour Governments since 1997, he says instantly: ‘The spending spree and debt burden’. As an accountant, it is perhaps inevitable that his own professional knowledge will lead him to focus on this fundamental area.

Surprisingly for a Conservative, his view is that we have got our priorities wrong. ‘We need to be more focused on outcomes such as better cancer survival rates and kids that can read, write and count, than just being obsessed with inputs and spending’.

The reference to ‘kids that can read, write and count’ lies at the heart of another of Mulvaney’s major concerns – education. As an employer, he is disturbed by the lack of basic skills of literacy and numeracy that he finds in most of those who apply for jobs his company offers.

He is quite open about his views on this. There is no way he is going to employ in business someone whose numeracy is suspect and whose written communications are gong to reflect badly on the company. These concerns and this stance are shared by many. Mulvaney cites Tesco’s CEO, Sir Terry Leahy, as having just made it known how appalled he is by the standards of literacy and numeracy in applicants for jobs at Tesco – right across the spectrum from shelf stacking to management.

Mulvaney is exercised by the human wastage of so many fundamentally able young people effectively barred from a wide range of jobs and opportunities by this lack of core skills.

He is equally sceptical about higher education, critical of the autopilot governmental notion that the number of degrees awarded annually says something positive about the strength of the national skills base.

He would be as interested in a Strategic Review of Education as he is in one for Defence. Indeed, in his article on Argyll and the Defence Establishment (part of the For Argyll Political Challenge in which he and Mike Mackenzie took part) he said that a Strategic Defence Review was an imperative. This has since been actioned by the UK Government – for after the General Election.

On education, he supports the current proposal that children should remain in Nursery School, engaged in learning through play, until the age of six. After that, he feels that Primary Schools should focus much more keenly on the necessary – and literally bread-and-butter – skills of literacy and numeracy.

On his work at Westminster, Mulvaney is lucid and decisive. If elected he will focus his constituency work on the powers reserved to Westminster. When his constituents need assistance with matters relating to devolved or local authority powers, he will support them in referral to their local Councillors and MSP.

In the House of Commons he will support the granting of borrowing powers to the Scottish Government.

He will also ‘bend David Cameron’s ear’ on Argyll and its needs and resources – raising the region in the consciousness of what will probably be the next UK government. His self-imposed target for Argyll is to get it: ‘influence where it matters, at the heart of British politics’.

Being of the party in Government, as he would be in this scenario, he aims to contribute on two main areas of expertise: the economy and defence.

He would be a formidable operator. A natural strategist and a clear thinker he has the added advantage of experience. He has come to realise that business, by its nature, teaches one to make decisions and that those who come to politics from within the political world – the ‘machine politicians’ – lack that crucial experiential training.

Does this mean that he would like to see experience beyond politics made a specific criterion for selection as a candidate for any parliament? No. As with any philosophical Conservative, he’d leave that to the market and does not see such intervention as healthy.

Asked who would be his ‘best friend’ at Westminster, he is again a realist. No one. There would be colleagues and there would be transient issue-based alliances. But Mulvaney, who knows the territory, understands the essential competitiveness of the political world. One member’s failure is another’s opportunity. He can live with the degree of professional aloneness this awareness anticipates.

He expects to find his meaningful friendships in his private not his professional life. Chief amongst these is his newly acquired wife Janet and daughter Sammy Jo. The couple cemented the relationships that clearly ground and sustain Mulvaney by marrying this summer, at St Augustine in Florida, where they have many friends.

The wedding became a communal adventure with a party from Argyll going out for the ceremony. After a few previous days of playing golf – 7 rounds – with, a la Colin Montgomery, one on the morning of the wedding, Mulvaney enjoyed the occasion so much that time passed too quickly and he was disappointed when he found it was all over. At least there was a second reception to look forward to later, back in Helensburgh, for all their friends at home.

Janet is his political as well as his personal friend. She is very politically aware and he trusts her judgment, saying she will tell him what he needs to hear, whether he likes it or not.

Moreover, Sammy Jo is a politically-minded teenager and Mulvaney has been energised by how issue-conscious she and her friends taking Modern Studies have become. Janet and Sammy Jo both support Mulvaney’s political ambitions and, if he goes to London, they will eventually join him there.

The family are a team and one suspects that, come the general election, this is a team that will be a potent campaigning force. A major card in the Mulvaney pack may well be an energetic teenage lobby led by Sammy Jo and friends. With the narrow spectrum of facilities and resources available in Argyll for young people, this direct line to she-who-really-knows is a very real political strength.

When it comes to campaigning, in an easy gesture to the brotherhood of challengers, Mulvaney sees himself and Mike Mackenzie as disadvantaged in relation to the incumbent MP, Liberal Democrat, Alan Reid. ‘Mike and I have other jobs to do. Alan, as the sitting MP, has the time to do the summer tour of Argyll and the Isles and he has his MP’s communications budget to deploy outside the formal general election campaign period’.

Alan Reid has effectively parked his tank on Mulvaney’s lawn by setting up a second constituency home at Cardross on the brink of Helensburgh. Asked how he feels about this, Mulvaney laughs. He takes it as a compliment that he is an acknowledged threat.

In a final underlining of his interest in defence, he identifies those whom he most admires. ‘The real heroes are our soldiers who sacrifice their lives for their country, whether in Afghanistan today or in countless wars and conflicts in the past – they are my heroes with no equal’.

Beyond the political – and golf – and slapstick comedy (he loves the movie Police Squad for its ‘brilliant’ one-liners) – Mulvaney’s idea of a perfect day to himself revolves around what are the obvious mainstays of his life – his family and his place.

‘Bit of a lie in and then up with breakfast, read the papers and maybe catch-up on some emails. Then it would off to Helensburgh with Janet and Sam to get some shopping, maybe stay in town for a spot of lunch. Then have my mother-law around. I quite like to cook some dinner. Then a quiet evening in on the sofa, watching the X Factor. Perfect.

‘My own place is very special – as long my friends and family are close by then that’s fine with me’.

This is a contented man as well as an ambitious one. The two rarely go together. The Mulvaney team will be off on an awfully big adventure when Gordon Brown eventually names the day. Win or lose the game, they’ve already won the match.That very ease, married with real ability, will make the 2010 chase – and their performance in it – one not to be missed.

Gary Mulvaney’s articles in the For Argyll Political Challenge

• Round 1: Gary Mulvaney on Scotland the the UK financial crisis
• Round 2: Gary Mulvaney on The future of energy production in Scotland
• Round 3: Gary Mulvaney on Argyll and the defence establishment
• Round 4: Gary Mulvaney on Developing Argyll’s economy
• Round 5: Gary Mulvaney on marketing Argyll
• Round 6: Gary Mulvaney on young people and Argyll

All photographs accompanying this article are by coyright holder, Rebecca Martin and may not be reproduced without permission.

Related Posts

• Conservatives sprinkle the Goldie dust on Argyll – but are they a team? (11)
• General Election in the offing and the misinformation begins (14)
• Mulvaney reveals the game for Argyll & Bute in the coming General Election (11)
• The battle-to-come for Helensburgh gets more interesting as Lib Dems declare against Trident 2 (2)
• Responses to first news of MoD plans for Argyll submarine nuclear waste sites (2)

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