Helen to fight for Holyrood

Helen Gardiner (37) will contest next May's Holyrood elections after being chosen as the Conservative candidate for Orkney at a packed meeting in Kirkwall.

Brought up in the Highlands, Helen read law at Edinburgh University, followed by a postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice at Glasgow University. A Scottish qualified lawyer, she ran her own law practice in Shetland throughout most of her twenties and early thirties. Since then she has been an international lawyer, seconded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to various countries aiming to join the EU.

Commenting on her selection, Helen said: “I am new to politics in the sense that I’ve never run for a seat before. However I’m not new to the issues. It’s the issues that brought me back to the Conservative Party at this time. I am very excited about the way David Cameron is steering the Conservative party back to a position of power. I want to play a part in that.”

Helen has a strong background in health related matters, having been one of the youngest ever appointed non executive directors of her local NHS board, then in Shetland. She was also instrumental in bringing about new drugs misuse services, was a Safeguarder to the Children‘s Panel and a Curator ad Litem in Sheriff Court matters relating to children. She is a keen follower of issues relating to island life including farming, fishing, tourism and transport.

Helen added: “I look forward to speaking to people in Orkney between now and May and hearing about what’s important for them. I want to persuade people to look again at what the Conservative Party has to offer. We’ve been on the side lines too long and it‘s time we reconnected with people. I want to be given an opportunity to put across our policies - devolving power from central government to local communities, providing better health care, education and housing, encouraging economic growth, and I am looking forward to the campaign.