• About Jim

    Jim Barrie is well-known – and well-respected – as a Dundee Councillor. He has represented the West End since the Logie By Election in August 2000 when he won the seat with a large swing from Labour. He increased his majority in Logie in 2003 and, in May 2007, was elected for the West End multi-member ward where the SNP gained the highest number of first-preference votes. When the SNP took control of Dundee City Council on 30 March 2009, Jim was elected Convenor of the 14-strong SNP Council group and appointed Convenor of the Council’s Social Work & Health Committee.
     
    But what drives Jim to throw his hat in the ring as SNP parliamentary candidate for Dundee West?
    “It would be true to say that I only did so after sounding out a lot of people whose opinions I trust,” says Jim. “It’s one thing being a local Councillor but to seek to represent half of the entire city at Westminster is a different ball game.

    “However, friends and supporters were clear that they felt I could do a good job for the city.”

    Since his adoption, Jim has been campaigning hard to win the seat for the SNP. He has an immense amount of valuable experience as a former civil servant and merchant navy radio officer to add to his eight years as a councillor. He keeps his feet firmly on the ground and in touch with all local issues.

    Born and bred in Dundee, Jim attended Rockwell Primary and Harris Academy. He is married to Janet, who is also from Dundee, and they live in Blackness Road in the constituency. Their two children, a son and daughter, are both now grown-up.

    Jim knows Dundee inside out and keeps abreast of issues that concern local people and works closely with MSP Joe FitzPatrick, who represents Dundee West at Holyrood. He believes that the election of an SNP Government at Holyrood has made big changes in a short period of time and gives a glimpse of what a fully-independent Scotland could achieve.

    So what was it that brought Jim into an active role in politics in the first place?

    For 24 years he worked in government communications at GCHQ where he was a union rep. The right to be a member of a trade union was under attack by the Thatcher government and on the day he left, in 1994, he decided to join the SNP in protest. He had been considering joining the party for some time having seen at close range how the Conservative government was asset stripping and decimating Scottish industry.

    As well as his conviction that Scottish Independence will massively improve the way the country is governed, Jim is also deeply concerned about other issues including the impact of crime in the local community. He is a member of the Tayside Police Joint Board and a former Board member of Crimestoppers Scotland.

    With family members having served in various Scottish regiments including the Black Watch, Jim is particularly keen that the historic identity of the regiments should be retained and re-instated as soon as possible.

    Jim says: “Dundee is a fantastic place to live. It has so much going for it but it also has lots of long-term problems that need to be tackled. I passionately care about the city and would be honoured to be given the chance to do something for Dundee in parliament. I am sure that with my experience I could provide first-class representation for Dundee West.

    “With the New Labour Government running out of steam and becoming indistinguishable from the Tories and with both those parties committed to savage cuts to the Scottish budget, it is vital that Scotland elects a strong bloc of SNP MPs prepared to stand up for Scotland.”