​"It's not about me, it's about us"

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Born in Ayr, I have lived and worked throughout the constituency all my life. I have two grown‐up children and, before the election, I served as a Councillor for the Ayr East ward of South Ayrshire Council.

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Educated locally, I joined the Civil Service on leaving school and worked my way up to management level. After 20 years, growing disillusioned with the policy changes being brought in by the Westminster Government, I left the Civil Service to study psychology before working in the voluntary sector and then running my own event management and business support company. 

Throughout my working life, I have always been an active member of my community and have worked to ensure I could make a positive contribution, from school boards to youth work, and from working as a Police Custody Welfare Officer to sitting on the local Community Council and being a member of the NHS Partnership Forum for health and cancer care services. In addition, I have previously served as a Director of Septembayr [The Ayrshire Festival], Ayrshire Housing and Ayr Renaissance. 

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My main political interests are Scottish independence, disability rights, welfare and social justice, rural issues and connectivity, tourism, youth issues and people trafficking. 

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I am a member of the SNP's Social Justice Team in Westminster and serve as the party's Disability Spokesperson. In this role I stand up for the rights of people with disabilities, ensure government policies which impact these people are scrutinised and debated, and do all that I can to help disabled people live full, independent and happy lives as equal and respected members of society.

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I am member of the following All Party Parliamentary Groups [APPGs]:

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• Abolition of the Death Penalty

• Aerospace

• Australia & New Zealand

• Autism

• Betting & Gambling

• Brexpats -- Vice Chair

• British-Norwegian

• Canada

• Child Sexual Exploitation

• Coalfield Communities

• Credit Unions

• Dairy

• Debt & Persona Finance

• Digital Crime

• Dyslexia

• Fisheries

• Flags & Heraldry

• Forestry

• Golf

• Hair - Vice Chair

• Human Trafficking -- Vice Chair

• Hunger

• Mining & Quarrying

• Netherlands

• Norway

• Polar Region

• Racing & Bloodstock

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I was involved in scrutinising the Welfare Reform Bill during its passage through the House of Commons. 

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