Family values at the heart of Hamish’s election campaign

An international expert in addressing corruption is putting family values at the forefront of his campaign as a candidate in the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency.

Edinburgh-born Hamish Goldie-Scot is standing for the Scottish Family Party in the General Election on July 4.

Hamish’s day job sees him travelling the globe advising governments and the private sector on how to work together to address the problem of corruption in the planning and delivery of public infrastructure.

Closer to home he’s a member of Abbey St Bathans, Bonkyl and Preston Community Council.

Hamish believes that family breakdown is a root cause of a wide range of problems, such as the housing crisis, criminality and drug abuse.

The Scottish Family Party is also critical of what it regards as “indoctrination” around issues such as sexuality and relationships.

Hamish, a father-of-three, was drawn to join the party due to its “common-sense” approach to such issues.

He said: “I believe that the Scottish Family Party has an important contribution to make to political debate in Scotland, as we try to work constructively with others to better understand and address some of the underlying causes, rather than just the symptoms, of the many societal ills and damaging divisions that characterise politics in Scotland.

“The reason that I, and 15 other candidates across Scotland, are standing in this election is to help raise awareness of, and engage in respectful debate about, important issues that we believe to be missing from current political discourse.

“We know that realistically we will be squeezed by the main parties, but it is already evident that we have a clear common-sense message that is more relevant than ever – that there should be more to policy development than merely shuffling the allocation of funds. Underlying values do matter and can in time make a material difference.

“Meanwhile what is required is not fashionable ideology but simply competence in doing the basics well.

“As well as being a great source of joy, family life underpins our society. In the family, care and love are embodied, and resources are shared freely.

“The state should not seek to supplant the fundamental role of the family in bringing up children and should refrain from interfering in family life. Instead, the state should be supporting families to enable them to provide for themselves, structure their family life according to their priorities, and bring up their children according to their values.

“Scotland faces many apparently intractable problems: poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, youth mental health issues, cycles of crime. Family breakdown fuels these and many more problems. It’s not the whole story but promoting family stability is a policy avenue that needs to be explored. It would pay dividends out of all proportion to the costs.

“Prevention is better than cure.”

The candidates for Beriwckshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk are: John Lamont (Conservatives), David Wilson (SNP), Ray Georgeson (Liberal Democrats); Caitlin Stott (Labour), Neil Mackinnon (Greens), Carolyn Grant (Reform), Ellie Merton (Independent); Hamish Goldie-Scot (Scottish Family Party).

Mr Lamont has been the constituency’s MP since 2017.