Until I became a candidate for the Conservatives in 1996 I hadn’t been a member of any political party.

I voted Conservative because even as a youngster I was impressed by Michael Noble who was our MP. I remember meeting him at the sheep dog trials at Cairndow in the 1960s and he came up and spoke to me. Later he became Secretary of State for Scotland and I was proud that he was my MP.

At that time things seemed to be improving, especially the roads kept getting upgraded. The section between the Rest and Be Thankful and the Dunoon turning was known as the 44 bumps but the Conservative government straightened it out and we had a beautiful flat new road.

It is the same throughout the Highlands: most major infrastructure projects, road improvements, causeways, bridges to islands and flyovers have all been instigated by Conservative governments which believed in investment in the future, not just revenue expenditure which was the Labour way, putting pounds in people’s pockets. But under Labour, the pound in your pocket became worth less and less. I remember when we could only take £65 out of the country because of Harold Wilson’s attempt to save our currency after his policies had ruined it.

So it was a choice then between Labour and Conservative until the SNP reared its head with its slogan-ridden ‘It’s our oil’. This seemed to me short sighted when surely our whole nation could benefit from oil revenue.  I was a one nation Conservative who deeply believed in a United Kingdom family who should stand or fall together.

I remember attending an SNP gathering at the Galley of Lorn in Ardfern in 1974. It seemed to be based more on emotion and resentment than forward thinking. Why should they claim a monopoly on patriotism when I felt it was patriotic to be Scottish and British at the same time, and to be proud of both. Their views seemed narrow and parochial and against what I considered the best national interest.

So  at that stage I was still a Conservative, having considered Labour and the SNP. But then of course along came Ray Michie, who like Michael Noble, was most people’s local favourite. But whilst I sympathised with Liberalism, I felt it was the ‘Dem’ bit that left them with a wish list to be all things to all people, avoiding any unpopular decision. As someone said, if God had been a Liberal we would not have had the 10 commandments, but rather the 10 suggestions!

So in a nutshell that’s why I belong to the Conservative Party because it believes in freedom and as little government interference as possible. It stands for encouraging vibrant communities where people feel a sense of importance and belonging. It reduces taxes and red tape for small businesses. It stands for long term investment in infrastructure and rural schools with small class sizes and teachers who insist on a full focus on reading, writing and arithmetic as well as a knowledge of history and biodiversity. It wants more health visitors for children and more carers for old people in their own homes  or in local nursing hospitals. It supports local hospices. It will take unpopular short term decisions to restore long term prosperity for our people.

Labour has left us with the worst economic situation since after the Napoleanic Wars in 1820. We need a tough plan to reduce the deficit.  People need jobs. We will support those who cannot find jobs or cannot work but we will insist that no family gets more on benefits that the average family earns by working. We will ensure that our universities remain top class because Scotland has always produced the brains to produce the engineers who this time can bring forward the dawn of a new age of Enlightenment in technology, especially the potential of the renewable industries which are a fabulous window of opportunity for the future of the Highlands & Islands and Argyll & Bute.

So ,as you asked me to do, I have used reasoned argument to explain why I am not with Labour, the SNP or LibDems. I never saw any merit in the policies of Stalin who murdered all the Russian hill farmers, and although sometimes I think that European Commissioners sit down after breakfast to dream up directives to annoy and upset Scottish business I find the views of UKIP negative with few positive solutions. I am a Conservative because I believe that my party is more radical and more forward thinking for a better long term future than any of the others.

Jamie McGrigor, Conservative candidate for Argyll and Bute, 2011 Scottish Election

The photograph above shows Jamie McGrigor in Oban.