I was never really in to politics as a kid. I did the usual things and went out with my friends and played football etc. The thoughts of policies, inflation, austerity or tax rates never crossed my mind. When I first got involved with politics, it was really through my dad, he would shout at the tv whenever John Major, William Hague or David Cameron was on. He would go in a rant about how they were talking rubbish and my Mum would tell him to be quite and stop going on as he was ‘doing her head in’. And god forbid if you asked him about the Thatcher years. My Dad is the smartest man I know and as I got older I started to make my own decisions. Further down the line I began to feel the passion my dad had for a fairer and more understanding society for all. I see a lot of my friends dads saying to their kids on matters like immigration and the union saying things like ‘get them out’ or ‘send them back’ which is a very inward outlook on the country and indeed the world. I couldn’t understand how people could be like that. I started to grow and become more aware of the things around me. Ive always had that little voice of my dad in my head saying “always do the right thing” and that sticks with me throughout my life. I have 2 beautiful, amazing kids. And I want whats best for them. I want them to have a say what goes on in Scotland and the rest of the world. I will speak for them until they’re old enough to voice their concerns on the world. So I hope I do the right thing by them.
I first took the step to visit my local branch meeting for Cunningham South. Unaware of what I was getting in to or where this journey would take me. As I walked through the door, no one knew who I was. I was welcomed with open arms. As I sat down and listened to Marie Burns and Robin Sturgeon speak about things concerning North Ayrshire I knew I was in the right place, I knew these people were people I would get on with. As time went on I was sporadic in my approach to being an activist. My shift patterns at work got in the way etc and it was hard to find the time. I picked up the paper one day and I saw the Cunningham south team had nominated their candidates for the wards of North Ayrshire. I decided to take action. I didn’t care if I would be tired from work and then having to go out and deliver hundreds of leaflets or chap doors, I decided that the vision for a fairer society for everyone was not going to be achieved if nothing was done. I decided to get out there and get involved. I messaged Scott Davidson, local firefighter and candidate for Kilwinning, one of the nicest guys i’ve ever met. He shares the same views as me and has that drive to help others and with that we became good friends. With the local elections coming up, he asked me to go over to Kilwinning to help out. I used to live there and I fell in love with the people and the area. For me, being an activist is not about helping out when I can its about playing my part in helping candidates get elected because these people are ordinary people fighting for the same thing I want, a fairer, understanding, more prosperous society for all. A society where the low income paying mum or dad get a helping hand to support their kids, a society where you know that your government has your best interests at heart, an outward looking, understanding society.
This SNP is important to me in many ways, I know what it feels like to go without food. To have nothing for a few days and struggling to get by from one day to the next. Im not ashamed to admit that. Ive been down to foodbanks on occasions. Fortunately things are a bit better now but there are thousands in North Ayrshire and in Scotland still the same. They see no light at the end of the tunnel. When the SNP brought in the Scottish Welfare fund in 2013 it meant people with low pay or people on benefits could phone up the Council, tell them your situation. They would send a code to your phone and you would take the code to your local shop and they would give you some money to buy nappies, food, electricity, gas etc. It makes me so proud to be a member of a party that implemented this as it reaches out to 230,000 people, the people that don’t ask for much, just a little help when the going gets tough, the people that look after others but never ask for help in return. The SNP wants a fairer society and a vision that we leave no man, woman or child behind. We look after everyone in their time of need. This is the SNP way!
Featured image of Nicola Sturgeon by Red Raiph
You can follow David Patterson on twitter at @DavidPee29 or at his webpage davesworld