People really matter

When you ask Russell Brown what his memories are of taking the seat of Dumfries for Labour in 1997 he thinks not of himself but of others.

National minimum wage

“I remember first getting elected and now, hanging in my office is the list of people on the committee who put the national minimum wage Bill through Parliament.

“That was a major boost for this area, because had that not happened I dread to think how bad places like Dumfries and Galloway and other rural areas would be now.”

Brown, a former TGWU official and local councillor with a serious love of football, is clearly motivated by social justice. “It may sound a bit corny or cheesy, but I believe it – the work that I do involves people, helping others through difficult times”, he says.

“As far as I’m concerned people really matter. I dedicate long hours to it. I remember, even long ago realising that there would be times when I would have to put other people before my own family. But my family have been with me all the way.”

His ties to the area just north of the border with England go back to boyhood, these valleys, villages and towns in what’s known as ‘The Debatable Land’, are in his blood.

“Being local to the area and having been the MP is important because it is not just knowing the geography, but the problems that exist within certain communities,” Brown says.

He goes on “it’s very much a low wage economy area – people really struggling to get by on a week to week basis. It is right that their MP should be able to relate to them and the problems they are facing.

Right to affordable home

“For instance I believe that every person in Scotland has the right to a safe and affordable home. It’s an utter scandal that we now face the biggest housing crisis since the Second World War, with 150,000 people in Scotland on social housing waiting lists.

“Housing in Scotland needs a complete change in direction. We need to tackle the housing crisis head on by radically increasing the number of homes being built.”

Brown, who fought and won the new seat of Dumfries and Galloway after the boundary changes in 2005, is today more convinced than ever that people must vote Labour to secure a better future.

“Labour is the only choice for the country because Labour still has the same values,” he says. “We are still dealing with the problems that existed 40 or even 50 years ago. We need to keep working with people to tell them ‘look it can be better than this’.”