I was born and brought up here, my family live here and I live in the constituency too. I did my public service overseas.  It’s the privilege of my life to represent the people of Central Ayrshire in Parliament.

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As British Trade Commissioner I led a team of over 200 people that delivered £4.5 billion of trade and investment deals for the UK and secured over 18,000 new jobs.

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With the Scottish Whisky Association, I secured a major reduction in whisky tarrifs in India - resulting in more bottles sold and safeguarding jobs back here in Scotland.

I’ve been at the forefront of the UK’s shift to winning new green jobs.  I negotiated directly with Tata, the top Indian investor in the UK, to win their £4 billion electric vehicle battery factory - and 5000 well paying jobs - for Britain.

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I was born and brought up here.

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Coming from an ordinary working family in Irvine, thanks to great teachers, support from the council and the 1997 Labour Government, I’ve had extraordinary opportunities. 

Like many people in our community, my dad lost his job in the 80s.  He then became a council bin-man. My mum started working in factories and ended up joining a local charity advocating for people with mental health issues. Now she has early-onset dementia.

Although I have lived in India for the past few years, Ayrshire has always been home.

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