Blind MSP savors baptism of fire

Since his election in May, a new disabled Member of the Scottish Parliament has already made his mark several times on the floor of the chamber. He’s a Scottish Nationalist. Sunil Peck reports

The first blind MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament has pledged to bang the greater-equality drum for disabled people in Scotland.

Dennis Robertson won the seat of Aberdeenshire West from the Lib Dems as the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) won a landslide victory in the May elections.

Robertson has held parliamentary ambitions since the early 1970s when he took part in a mock election at school.

But he says that now he’s finally there, he’s under­gone a baptism of fire.

“It’s all the constituency work, which varies from fraud prevention to opposition to wind farms to companies suggesting we should be doing more to balance the economy and neighbourhood disputes.”

A guide dog owner with 30 years’ experience as a social worker, Robertson is also a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee. He opposes plans to reassess whether current Disability Living Allowance claimants are eligible for the Personal Independence Payments that will replace it. He also thinks it’s wrong to place sanctions on disabled jobseekers who can’t find work because of employers’ prejudice.

Does Robertson think he might struggle to balance his equality campaigning with representing all the other constituents who voted him into parliament in the first place?

“I’m on the cross party group for visual impairment and I’ve worked with RNIB and Guide Dogs over the years and I’ll continue to do everything I can, but I think it would be wrong for me to say that I’ll be an ambassador for blind and disabled people. But one of the things I’m very proud of is that a pupil at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh emailed when I was elected to say that my success had given him the confidence to move forward and that he wants to become the first president of Scotland. So if you can be a role model, that’s fantastic.”

David Blunkett has spoken about the hours he put into parliamentary work just to prove to people he was capable of handling his brief. But a few weeks into office and with speeches in the chamber on renewable energy, social care and education under his belt, Robertson does not feel under similar pressure.

“People do understand that it might take me slightly more time to do things, but the fact that I’ve spoken three times in debates is probably proof that I’m being treated as any other MSP would be. It’s quite exceptional to have spoken as often as that as a new person.”

But the committed nationalist has no ambition to be elected to West­minster. His main political aim is to be re-elected after his current term and to play a part in gaining Scottish independence.

“I have a vibrant constituency but it’s rural. So the main areas I’m focused on right now are tourism, renewable energy and public transport.”