Katy Gordon

Katy has highlighted her support for Robert Brown, Lib Dem Glasgow MSP, and the party’s plans to increase further the gender and ethnic minority balance of their elected representatives in a letter to the local paper, the Reformer, today. View the full text of the letter, published on 19th Oct 06, below:

In response to the letter from James Cowan (Reformer 12/10/06) I write as a female candidate on the Liberal Democrat Glasgow list to inform him of a number of facts.
It is correct that Robert Brown has been re-selected as the first candidate on the Glasgow Regional list for the Scottish parliamentary elections next year.

I am the second candidate, and another woman, Isabel Nelson, is the third candidate on the list.

Robert Brown is an excellent MSP who has served the area with distinction and who was, moreover, backed by the vote of party members to be our lead candidate.

As a female candidate and second on the list, I believe it is outrageous to suggest that the sitting MSP move down the list ot give me a better opportunity to be elected.

The number of seats we get next May is in the hands of the electors. After our victories over Labour in the Dunfermline by election and, locally, in the King’s Park Council ward, Liberal Democrats in Scotland are in good heart, and confident of winning at least two seats on the Glasgow regional list at the next election.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have a number of very capable female candidates and representatives in this area. In South Lanarkshire we have a gender balanced council group; our candidate is female in the highly winnable Strathkelvin and Bearsden seat, and our European member is Elspeth Attwooll MEP.

I am glad that Mr Cowan has noted Liberal Democrat plans to support the election of more women and indeed ethnic minority candidates at Parliamentary level.

At a time when, in Rutherglen, the female Labour MSP is standing down to be replaced by a man, I would suggest that Mr Cowan is directing his fire in the wrong direction.

Katy Gordon

Liberal Democrat Regional List candidate, Glasgow