Dundee is about to elect its members of parliament.
I won’t tell anyone how to vote. I expect you made up your mind long ago and nothing any numpty says in a column will change that.
In any case, I tend to reserve my comments for local matters.
When the council elections come round, that’ll be different. I’ll name names, assess individual performances and apportion blame.
I’m sharpening my pencil in anticipation.
‘Remember where you came from’
But in this general election I urge every Dundonian, vote as you see fit. It is your right to do so.
To our new, or continuation, MP(s) – no matter who you are and what party you represent, I demand you remember where you came from.
Chris Law and Stewart Hosie disappeared down to Westminster five years ago and we barely heard from them again.
To be fair, they are far from the first MPs in Dundee’s history to do this.
Part of an MP’s job is to be visible and influential in their constituency.
Does anyone know Mr Law or Mr Hosie’s opinion on Judy Dobbie, the head of Dundee Leisure & Culture, getting a ridiculous seven grand pay rise amid the Olympia farce?
Or their theory on whether the council is building a submarine or a school at the East End Campus?
No. Law and Hosie (who is standing down) apparently don’t care about local stuff.
Maybe they got comfy in Westminster’s Members’ Dining Room (where politicians can get a chargrilled ribeye steak & béarnaise sauce for a subsidised £9.19) and forgot all about Nicoll’s Rosebank Bakery’s mince & bean pies.
‘Be part of Dundee life’
Chris Law, if you’re re-elected, we need more action from you.
At the University of Dundee hustings last week, when asked what you’d done for your constituency, you spoke of what the city council had done.
Couldn’t you think of anything you personally achieved? Neither could I.
You must act more like of a servant of Dundee.
Have opinions about your home patch and express those opinions. Be a part of Dundee life. Intervene.
Show that you know what’s going on.
Then, when you are down at parliament, fight for your town.
‘Forgotten city’
It is long past time Dundee was treated right.
We are Scotland’s forgotten city when it comes to investment, from both Holyrood and Westminster.
If Labour’s GB Energy firm (yes, I know the arguments, thanks) doesn’t come here that would be a travesty.
This multi-billion pound investment can’t be lost to another Scottish city.
Whoever the new MPs are, if those GB Energy jobs don’t come to Dundee, you’re getting the blame.
I don’t care if it’s not your party’s policy.
I expect you to get round a table with whoever is doing the deciding and point out this is nothing to do with party politics, it is just right and fair.
It’s Dundee’s turn, Dundee workers would be very good at this.
Speak, lobby, negotiate, persuade – whatever it takes.
Be Dundee first, not party first. Dundee gave you your job, you owe something in return.
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