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'Two pills short of flipping!' John Swinburne MSP's comments on the proposed siting of a secure psychiatric unit near Bothwell. |
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'Two pills short of flipping!' John Swinburne MSP's comments on the proposed siting of a secure psychiatric unit near Bothwell. |
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1. George Henderson OBE |  |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | ||
| George Henderson was born in Edinburgh on the 27th of September 1933 and was brought up and educated there. He served a five-year indentured apprenticeship to become a Craftsman Plasterer then served with the 1st Battalion Royal Scots Regiment at Suez in 1954. On returning from the Middle East, he worked as an Edinburgh TradesÊ Council Executive Council Member, gaining valuable experience as the T.U.Representative Prison Visitor to Young Offenders, HM Prison Saughton. He was Representative to various Hospital Boards including the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, The Sick Children's' Hospital, and Representative to The Scottish National Institute for the War Blinded at Linburn. In 1962 he was elected National Organiser for the Scottish Plasterers Union. In 1969 he was appointed National Secretary of the T&G Building Crafts Section, which required a move to London. This role required his involvement in negotiations with employer's bodies nationally and internationally with British Government Ministers, including the Prime Minister, on issues such as accident and health benefits and pension schemes. He maintains that the OBE presented to him in 1995 by HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace for his services to Industrial Relations and Health and Safety, was really due to the efforts of many other colleagues . In 1997 he was appointed Executive Secretary of the International ConstructionÊ Institute, a body involved in the training of people in world trouble spots such as El Salvador, Bosnia and Kosovo to rebuild their homes, schools and their country's infrastructure. In 1999, he returned to live in Edinburgh, focussing his energies and negotiating skills on campaigning for the welfare of pensioners. George has an excellent track record as a successful campaigner. He has lobbied MPs and MSPs at both Westminster and Holyrood Parliaments in support of the Pensioner's cause. He works closely with Jack Jones, Pensioners Champion of Champions, former President of the National Pensioners Convention of which George is a member - to press for better care and conditions for pensioners. Recent electoral experience | ||
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2. Iris Temple | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | ||
| Iris Temple was born in Aberdeen in 1946 and is now one of the baby boomers who have reached pension age. "Many of us have parents who could face having to sell their home to pay for residential care. SSCUP have a bill coming before the next session of parliament to end the sale of pensioner's homes. If you have had a home visit from the DWP to discuss pension credits you will know how invasive this is into your privacy. Everyone is entitled to a fair pension there is no need for an expensive administration system to give credits. An index linked pension must be brought back again only this time with men and women at the same rate. I have worked for 40 years and paid national insurance in full and I am given a lesser pension than a man in this day and age! It reflects very badly on Scotland and the baby boomers won't stand for this discrimination. We changed Britain in the sixties and seventies and we can do the same in Scotland in 2007!" Recent electoral experience | ||
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3. John P Walker | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | ||
| John P Walker is a member of the SSCUP's Gorebridge branch.
Recent electoral experience | ||
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4. Ross Dewar | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | ||
| Ross Dewar is married with a grown up daughter and lives in Edinburgh. He served a five-year indentured apprenticeship in marine electrical engineering then studied for a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering. He worked as an engineer for various companies in the UK and abroad in R&D, customer support and training, living for 17 years outside the UK. He now juggles three different jobs, having been made redundant in 2003 and, although ÒonlyÓ 57, minimal pension expectations (thanks Gordon), means that heÕll probably still need to be working in ten years time! Working part-time for a care agency, he knows only too well the extreme difficulties faced by many pensioners on our pathetic state pensions, amongst the lowest in Europe.
Recent electoral experience | ||
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5. Dr. Robert D. Bagnall | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party | ||
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Recent electoral experience | ||
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