PPC: David Cairns

Constituency: Inverclyde

Elected: 2001

Website: www.davidcairns.com

Telephone: 01475 791 820

Email: cairnsd@parliament.uk

Address: 20 Union Street, Greenock, PA16 8JL

David was born in Greenock in the old Rankin Hospital in 1966. His family live locally and he is the first ever local person to represent Inverclyde.  

He was educated at Gregorian University, Rome and the Franciscan Study Centre, Canterbury and from 1991 to 1994 he was a catholic priest — starting in Scotland and ending up in south London. But, he found that politics was becoming his first interest and felt that he wanted to work for the labour movement full-time.

From 1994–97 he worked as a Director of the Christian Socialist Movement and secretary for Labour’s socialist societies. Then for four years before becoming Greenock and Inverclyde’s MP he worked as researcher to Siobhain McDonagh MP and served as a councillor in the London Borough of Merton.

In 2001 he was elected as the MP for the constituency of Greenock and Inverclyde and in 2003 he became the Personal Private Secretary to the Pensions Minister. At the 2005 General Election he was fortunate enough to be returned as the MP for the new enlarged constituency of Inverclyde. He was then appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scotland Office in 2005 and in 2007 he became the Minister of State at the same Department. In 2008 he resigned from his ministerial position and returned to the Backbenches.