Jim Leishman to stand for Labour

Gary Fitzpatrick • Published 13 Feb 2012 09:30 40 Comments

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PARS legend Jim Leishman was unveiled today as a Labour Party candidate for Dunfermline in the council elections.

In a surprise announcement, the Dunfermline Athletic director of football was joined by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and ex-First Minister Henry McLeish to declare the launch of his political career.

A key plank of Labour's manifesto in Fife will be pushing to make people of all ages more active through sport and leisure pursuits and Jim will at the forefront of this initiative.

Big Jim - who will be one of two Labour candidates in Dunfermline Central - said the football club had been very supportive of the move and chairman John Yorkston was at the press conference alongside him.

"I've been asked two or three times by different people in the past but it's only over the past six months that I've seriously considered it," said Jim.

"I've got more time on my hands now. The football club will still be my main employment.

"I'm planning to have surgeries to go and speak to people and find out what they want. It's about them, it's not about Jim Leishman."

Mr Brown said, "Sport is the best anti-poverty, anti-deprivation, anti-crime, pro-discipline policy that many of us can contemplate for the future of Fife.

"I'm so pleased that Jim Leishman as Fife's best-known sportsman has agreed to be a candidate for the council and to lead what could be a sporting revolution and transformation for Fife.

"Jim has all the best qualifications to be the person to lead that revolution by being a council candidate and then a councillor if the people of Dunfermline in the central ward choose him in May."

Dunfermline Labour MP Thomas Docherty said, "Jim supported me during my election campaign and I'm delighted he's standing as a Labour candidate.

"He's a great ambassador for Dunfermline and he is Labour's best signing of the season."

This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 13 Feb 12

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

BrownOwl
17 posts
Feb 13, 16:47
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While Jim Leishman is undoubtedly a very popular local figure, what worries me is his comment that the football club will still be his main employment. Don't the people of Dunfermline deserve proper representation, rather than someone who will make a few public appearances when he's not too busy in his real job?

Recommend? Yes 45 No 24
vinoboy35
70 posts
Feb 13, 17:22
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Hmmm- not sure what to make of this .Disagree with above inference that you have to be unemployed to be a Councillor (some cynics would say unemployable ,he he) as Councils need folk from a variety of backgrounds.

I do wonder if Jim will enjoy being Mr Unpopular dealing with cutbacks and complaints ,I see him more in the amabassador mould than dealing with "humdrum" cooncil biz. Ah well, he will learn if elected .Who has been knocked out by this decision as labour announced it's candidates 2 weeks ago with great fanfare and Jim was not on that list . Will make the election slightly more interesting.

Recommend? Yes 18 No 12
Monet1
30 posts
Feb 13, 17:29
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Leish has made a fool of himself many times but he has surpassed himself with this one!

Recommend? Yes 39 No 26
SmarmyGit
314 posts
Feb 13, 17:37
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Think he should stick to what he knows best, fitba.

Recommend? Yes 40 No 22
GarryMac
2 posts
Feb 13, 18:29
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I think the Labour Party are clutching at straws here, to be honest. I admired Jim Leishman as a football manager at all of his clubs but the skills he needed for that are not those needed for a politician at any level. Unfortunately he will struggle and the losers will be Jim himself, those who he was elected to serve and ultimately, the Labour Party itself. However, much as it grieves me to say so, it has been a long time since the Labour Party took a long view on anything , selling its soul for short term again.

Jom, you are a lovely guy, but this is not for you and those who put you forward do not have your best interests at heart.

Recommend? Yes 38 No 26
GarryMac
2 posts
Feb 13, 18:30
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whoops, fat fingers in that last paragraph. Jim, you are still a lovely guy.

Recommend? Yes 7 No 15
kaka30
309 posts
Feb 13, 19:37
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I think Jim will be make a great Councillor, certainly a lot better than most.

Hes popular, honest a proud Fife man & he genuinley cares.

A breath of fresh air i would say, good luck Jim.

Recommend? Yes 30 No 32
Angus
35 posts
Feb 13, 21:41
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Uh oh. Looks like the SNP's cyber-army is on the attack...and they say Labour is negative.

Good on Jim - a local guy standing up for his own town.

Recommend? Yes 34 No 29
jockinthebox
1 post
Feb 13, 22:58
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Labour knowingly lied to Scotland over Thatchers McCrone Report.The Labour party contains two kinds of members therefore. Those who knowingly lie to the people, and those who dont know what has happened,and want us to elect them.

Recommend? Yes 22 No 26
Angus
35 posts
Feb 13, 23:14
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I daresay there's a lot of honest Labour members who would disagree with both statements.

Anyway, Jim Leishman is the man! Need I say more...

Recommend? Yes 28 No 26
logster
28 posts
Feb 13, 23:15
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Well at least Jim can say he has always been a Labour Party Supporter,unlike some of our party jumping candidates standing for the SNP.We even have one candidate who is now a member of her fourth political party.Expelled from the Labour Party,then joined the Scottish Socialist Labour party then Tommy Sheridan in his solidarity party,now an SNP candidate in the council elections in may. At least the Labour candidates can say they are true to their party and fighting for the people of fife,maybe that's why Jim is standing for Councilor.

Recommend? Yes 34 No 14
naebotherataw
13 posts
Feb 14, 10:16
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more clowns, just what we need.........

Recommend? Yes 21 No 16
Johnnyboy1
18 posts
Feb 14, 11:12
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Good luck Jim, but WRONG TEAM!!!!!!!!!!

Recommend? Yes 29 No 24
bigbarryobama
26 posts
Feb 14, 13:18
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If you don't support Independence Jim, you don't have my vote!

Recommend? Yes 39 No 27
Monet1
30 posts
Feb 14, 14:42
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Leish is standing in Dunfermline Central which contains - wait for it, wait for it - East End Park! Surely this will be a massive conflict of interest while he remains a paid employee of the Club? If, as has happened in the past, the Club become embroiled in a public issue, he cannot be seen to act independently if he works for the Club e.g. he will be sitting on the planning committee that makes decisions on any future planning applications by the Club

Jim - you just have not thought this through and are walking into more trouble than you realise!

Recommend? Yes 27 No 17
magpiefifer
12 posts
Feb 14, 16:30
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A councillor's income on top of the package he receives at DAFC!!!!

Recommend? Yes 14 No 17
Mr Dunfermline
1 post
Feb 14, 17:07
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Monet1 - East End Park is not in the Dunfermline Central ward. If you want to talk about conflict of interest, what about the SNP Councillor who is chair of Fife Council's education committee and his wife who is employed by Fife Council as a head teacher? I think it's great that councillors come from all sections of society and I know most sensible people will find it despicable that you would try to sully Big Jim's name by questioning his integrity over hypothetical planning issues. Anyway, he has to get elected first, but I think 'Mr Dunfermline' will be a great representative of the people of Dunfermline Central should he be successful.

Recommend? Yes 12 No 18
Hermes74
15 posts
Feb 14, 18:50
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Perhaps I should correct a couple points made by previous posters before I make any comment.

1. Logster - Jim has previously been a member of the SNP and has endorsed SNP parliamentary candidates in the past.

2. Mr Dunfermline- East end Park is in the Dunfermline central ward.

Personally I have no problem with parties fielding "celebrity" candidates. All of them have done it. It is perhaps a compliment to Labours rivals that Labour need a character such as Jim to have any hope of replacing their current absentee Councillor in Dunfermline central.

Nor do I think it is wrong for Jim to continue to work for the Pars and fulfill his Council duties. If his employers agree to give him the time off then it should work out OK.

However I know he resigned from the Sports and Leisure Trust (who operate the Carnegie Leisure Centre) because he did not have time to attend the meetings. That last point just may give people pause for thought as Labour tout Jim to lead "the sporting revolution and transformation in Fife."

I hope that he realises what he is taking on and wish him all the best.

Recommend? Yes 15 No 11
bicyclebob
159 posts
Feb 14, 20:18
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mazoola

Recommend? Yes 1 No 1
Monet1
30 posts
Feb 14, 20:44
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So called "Mr Dunfermline" should get his facts right!

Follow this link

http://www.lgbc-scotland.gov.uk/maps/4thelectoral/fife/fifeindex.asp

Click on the link for Ward 3 - Dunfermline Central. Look closely at the line where East End Park is. You will see the boundary of the ward is the cycle track, just north of the stadium.

Moral of the story is - if you try to be a smart ar**, you had better get your facts right :-)

Recommend? Yes 8 No 9
nancydrew
5 posts
Feb 14, 21:17
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I think you will agree that the Football Club serves a bigger area than just one Council ward and so the position of lines on maps doesn't really matter. The City of Dunfermline Area Committee covers the whole of Dunfermline and that would be where planning decisions were taken, not at Ward level. There are provisions for Councillors to declare an interest in items that come before them for decision. Its not that unusual. Lots of Councillors have other jobs and interests. They don't live in a vacuum and it wouldn't be good if they did

Recommend? Yes 14 No 3
vinoboy35
70 posts
Feb 14, 21:24
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I checked the Fife Labour website to see who had stood aside to let Jim stand but unable to find even the complete list of candidates for Dunfermline.Anybody any idea whether it is Bob Young or Christine Laird ?

Do folk think this news of Jim Leisman standing will hit SNP or Lib dem vote hardest ?

Recommend? Yes 9 No 8
Angus
35 posts
Feb 14, 22:11
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Lib Dem vote had pretty much disappeared, so Jim will no doubt get a bit of that share of that vote. I reckon he'll also get some of the SNP vote too, he's a local guy who knows the area well.

It would be nice to see a representative who doesn't sweep serious local issues (treatment of staff at the Amazon plant) under the carpet, lest investors decide not to come to the town - don't they know Dunfermline is famous for its backbone?!

Recommend? Yes 25 No 4
logster
28 posts
Feb 14, 22:22
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Quite a few comments on this story, seems to be a lot of tit for tat now,the bottom line is Jim Leishman is a Labour candidate for Dunfermline Central and that will not change.

Recommend? Yes 14 No 5
nancydrew
5 posts
Feb 14, 22:33
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Game on!

Recommend? Yes 3 No 2
kaka30
309 posts
Feb 15, 09:32
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Dunfermline Central should get right behind Jim & all the rest of us who really care about Fife & Scotland should get behind Labour because if the SNP get their way we will all be on our knees shortly.

Recommend? Yes 16 No 20
Ooosh!
31 posts
Feb 15, 10:00
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"I'm a doctor Jim, not a bricklayer"

Recommend? Yes 3 No 4
Brianclark
7 posts
Feb 15, 20:47
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So Big Jim is in Favour of English Rule and Weapons of Mass Destruction Hmmmmmmm ???

Recommend? Yes 10 No 14
logster
28 posts
Feb 15, 21:35
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Herpes 74 please get your facts right,Jim Lieshman has never been a member or a supporter of the SNP.He once shared a photo shoot supporting devolution with members of the SNP, Labour Party and the LIB/DEMS.At the same time Sean Connery was on the television with Gordon Brown supporting devolution,so would that would make Sean Connery a member of the Labour Party in your terms of thinking.

Recommend? Yes 14 No 4
Angus
35 posts
Feb 15, 21:40
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I agree Jim, it's not as if Tony Blair or Gordon Brown were Scottish...or that we have our own parliament or anything?

As for rule from Edinburgh, last time I checked, John Swinney managed to lose Scotland's own tax-varying powers...

Recommend? Yes 15 No 8
jollymolly
93 posts
Feb 15, 22:53
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Come on you ""pars ""

Recommend? Yes 6 No 4
vinoboy35
70 posts
Feb 15, 23:56
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Glad to see Gordon Brown has found his level ,organising Cooncil candidates in Dunfermline.What next issuing statements about dog fouling ? How the mighty have fallen .Non political statement by the way .I have no party alliegance. Like to scunner all charlatans.

Recommend? Yes 9 No 7
lydiapot1
118 posts
Feb 16, 06:41
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One thing is for sure, he sure needs a haircut!!!

Recommend? Yes 12 No 4
nancydrew
5 posts
Feb 17, 08:36
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Why talk down Council services and wanting to be a councillor? The Council spends billions every year on our behalf (altihough so far it hasn't solved dog fouling!).

Recommend? Yes 5 No 0
vinoboy35
70 posts
Feb 17, 21:23
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If only Fife Council had billions to waste .

Recommend? Yes 4 No 0
DrewCarnegie
65 posts
Feb 19, 16:06
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Master stroke by the failing Labour Party, get a local hero in who will carry out his duties with hard work and passion.

Although I think Big Leish will do good, his reputation might get tarnished associating himself with a political party that has carried financial vandalism on the country and carried out illegal wars.

All the best bigman

Recommend? Yes 5 No 2
ItsErnie
197 posts
Feb 21, 15:55
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This looks to be nothing other thyan a cynical move by Labour to try to cover up its recent unpopularity by proposing a well-known and popular local figure. But Labour's spendthrift policies and well-known nepotism will not be changed and Leishman risks being tarred with the same brush.

Asuide from that though does Leishman have the sort of experience that a councillor should have? Of course he is knowledgeable about Pars but I have never heard of him being much interested in wider Fife issues.

Recommend? Yes 2 No 0
Jimmynewswatcher
5 posts
Feb 21, 20:04
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I have to say I think this is great news for the majority who could not care less about party politics and I wish more people who have a wider experience would put themselves forward for the council. I assume if big Leish had stood for the nats then the Labour people would have been on having a go like the nats are above, but I reckon that the non party people (who are the majority) will welcome someone who is not a party animal.

Why is it that the party faithful have to be so nasty and don’t they realise this is what turns the majority of decent people off politics? Good on you Jim, I hope this leads to more people coming forward and standing for the council who are more interested in the community that the petty party politics that we are all so fed up of.

Recommend? Yes 2 No 2
arahant11
2 posts
Feb 24, 09:00
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the photo reminds me of that other labour electoral liability Michael Foote but more seriously Leish would deserve a bit of respect if he was doing this on a voluntary basis to put something back into the community that has been so good to him rather than as ANOTHER paid job. If you look at unemployment levels in west fife he should be a bit embarrassed about having more than one paid job.

Recommend? Yes 3 No 0
itsonlyagame
17 posts
Mar 2, 14:01
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Well there are loads of comments about Big Jim, Mr Dunfermline, Jim in certainly well known. I have never met Jim, but have done a bit of reading about him. He seems to be a man who cares for the people of Dunfermline and surrounding areas. This surely has got to be one of the qualities we expect for a councillor. Does it matter the colour of the shirt? The point is can the man in the shirt do the job? I think he can, sure he may need some help, and so does everyone when they start a new job. Living, breathing and working in the Dunfermline area can only pace him on a firm footing as he embarks on a political career. When Jim is elected he can be an ambassador for the whole of Fife. Jim Leishman for Provost.

Recommend? Yes 1 No 2

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