The other battles in Scotland

Rayleen Kelly reports on her re-election bid

This campaign has been an interesting one so far, the new boundaries can make campaigning quite difficult but not impossible.

Since my election in 2003 I have been working hard to represent my constituents and help them with every problem that they bring to me, you can’t help all of the time and you can’t know everything so being able to say sorry I don’t know, is a definite strength.

Working within the new arrangements means this time I am have a running mate, Jim Sharkey, he has been great and is such a hard worker that it is exhausting just watching him!

One of the positives of having the Scottish Parliament elections on the same day as the council means that
we get to run a really tight campaign with the MSP candidates, because of the new arrangements the new Paisley East and Ralston ward has two MSP Labour candidates Wendy Alexander and Hugh Henry.

Having worked with Wendy for a number of years I know her campaigning style and can just about keep up!

With Hugh this has been a learning experience but one that I have enjoyed and I know both of them work really hard, I have even had assistance from the neighbouring MSP candidate Trish Godman in the
guise of advice and moral support.

The last few weeks have been hectic what with council meetings still going on and the campaign in full swing, despite the polling nationally the results are not being replicated on the doors/telephone in
Renfrewshire and that is heartening.

Both my dad and I are standing again and I am lucky to have both his support and that of my Convenor
Tommy Williams – my dad’s running mate.

I am proud of the achievements of the Labour administration of Renfrewshire Council, 3 new elderly care homes, 10 new schools, the modernisation of every school in Renfrewshire by 2012, the new dry
sports centre at the Lagoon Leisure centre in my own ward costing £4.2m, the St Mirren training academy at Penilee Pavilion, the increase in foster carers for children in need, 17,000 additional police officer hours, zero tolerance on anti social behaviour and the regeneration of Paisley, Linwood and Renfrew Town Centres to name but a few, all of this can and hopefully will continue under a new Labour Administration, we are aiming for a Labour victory and with the support of the electorate this is possible.

https://rayleenkelly.blogspot.com/