School teacher and local resident Ian Harrow has been selected to fight the East Kilbride East ward.

Ian has lived in East Kilbride all his life, and in St. Leonards for nearly 40 years. Ian is active in his local community, being an elder in Claremont Church, and is heavily involved in the local Boys Brigade company.

Ian says: "I would hope to reach as many people as possible during the campaign, not just by leaflets which tend to set out what we want, but also by talking to people to find out what they want for their community.

"There are too many professional councillors who see it as a stepping stone to what they think are "greater things". That is not my aim. I would aim to serve the local people, to provide them with the services they want, within council limits. I would also aim to eliminate useless expenditure on politically correct activities.

"Councils should be there to help the residents, not to dictate to them."

Ian is an experienced candidate, having stood for local government elections in East Kilbride previously. In 2010, Ian was the only candidate to significantly increase their share of the vote at the East Kilbride West ward by-election.