The two very real challengers to the sitting tenant in the Argyll & Bute Westminster seat at the next General Election have been talking to For Argyll – about themselves, their politics, their commitments and their plans.
There are a lot of surprises – neither man is a known quantity – yet. Neither is a standard politician. Each has views which one would not expect from a member of their party. Each is an energetic independent spirit with a manifestly real belief in Argyll’s potential – as well as an equal exasperation at the obstacles to its progress, some of them self-generated.
Each man is a thinker, an analyst, a strategist. Each is bright, impressively well informed, very good company and, in their different ways, realistic.
Both bring to their politics the knowledge, experience and insights of their respective business lives and their commitment to their communities. This makes each – as with Alan Reid – a long way from today’s tedious, scripted and dangerously narrow machine politician.
Each of these men is a grounded person, confident, assured and with a variety of interests that make them well rounded people.
They’ve each already taken a lively part in the For Argyll Political Challenge – contributing monthly personal arguments on a set of common topics over the past six months.
They disagree on the nuclear deterrent and on Europe – and of course they take different sides on the unionism-versus-independence debate on Scotland’s future.
They both keep fit. Mike Mackenzie goes for an independent run every day. Gary Mulvaney takes a conservative walk to work. In both cases, the separate recipes seem to be working.
The profiles on each of these candidates, who will be challenging the current holder of the Argyll & Bute seat, the Liberal Democrat Alan Reid – and each other, will be published within the next day or so. The articles will be accompanied by a special series of photographs of each man, caught in conversation, taken for us by Rebecca Martin.
You know Alan Reid already. Now schedule some time to get up close and personal with Mulvaney and Mackenzie. Find out about them as people and get a sense of how each would raise Argyll’s game at Westminster. Take it from us. They’re worth knowing. You will have real and difficult choices to make, come the General Election.
And you’ll have to read the articles to discover the surprises for yourself.
Given the current deceptions and lies in Westminster ‘expenses’ Argyll’s MP MUST be cleaner than clean.
We need to know what dealings the candidates have had and are having with the police, the planning authorities, charitable organisations, tax authorities, and all other areas where dodgy if not actual criminal activities have been associated with the potential MP.
Please ask the candidates to ‘fess up to their records. We neither need nor deserve to elect a pig in a poke.
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