Jim McGovern

Jim McGovern has been MP for Dundee West since May 2005.  Prior to becoming a politician he worked as a glazier within the Dundee District Council. During his work at the council he was active within the Trade Union, GMB, and in 1997 he started working full time for them as a Trade Union Organiser.

Jim has been involved with the Labour Party for many years and has also been a councillor on Tayside Regional Council and a party election agent.

John Barnett

John Barnett has been an active member of the Liberal Democrats since school and has held a number of party roles in both Scotland and London.  He served on the Federal Party's 'Meeting Challenge Group' and as a member of the Steel Commission on 'Moving Towards Federalism.'  He lists his key political interests as education, international relations, public finance and human rights.

John graduated in law from the University of Dundee before completing a postgraduate degree in International Strategy & Economics at the University of St Andrews. John claims to offer voters "a radical alternative to the approach of Labour and the SNP" by addressing the real issues of concerns of local people.  He is a member of the National Trust for Scotland, Liberal International, Scottish Ornithologists' Club and Friends of Falkland's Heritage

Colin Stewart

Colin is 34 and has lived in Dundee for the past 24 years. He grew up just off the Perth Road and was educated at Dundee High School.

He now works in quality assurance for a prominent local medical diagnostics manufacturer, part of Dundee's world-leading life sciences sector.

Colin is Chairman of Dundee & South Angus Conservatives and a member of the party's Scottish Council. He has also served as Chairperson of Dundee-based charity The Friends of Baxter Park and as a committee member of the Stobswell Forum. He is currently a part-time student at Dundee University, and his areas of special political interest are the economy, education and the environment.

Jim Barrie

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.

Jim 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 and presently serves as Convenor of the 14-strong SNP Group on the city Council.

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

For 24 years Jim 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 strong belief that Scottish Independence will massively improve the way the country is governed and create huge opportunities for Scots to improve their lives, Jim is also deeply concerned about the impact of crime in the local community and is a member of the Tayside Police Joint Board and a former Board member of Crimestoppers Scotland.