Election Communication
Dumbarton Constituency
Andrew Muir
Independent Candidate
ABOUT ME
I am 67 years old, and married with a daughter.

Full statement

I am a life and pensions actuary, a former Scottish Chess Champion, a winner of a Gold and Silver Medal at the Chess Olympiad in Russia and a member of Mensa. I regularly attend St Patrick’s Church, Dumbarton.
I have been active in politics for a long time. I am a member of Silverton and Overtoun Community Council. This is the eleventh time I have stood in elections for either Holyrood, Westminster or West Dunbartonshire Council. I have spoken at Carers Parliament several times and submitted some human rights petitions to the Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament, all of which were unfortunately closed without any actions.
INCOMPETENCE AND DISHONESTY
Dumbarton High Street and the Artizan Shopping Centre are run down with many empty shops. This is due to neglect and lack of investment in the area which I hope to begin to reverse if elected.
The culture of this area is that of incompetence and dishonesty. This has been constant over a whole generation. My family has had two very bad Kafkaesque experiences similar in structure 17 years apart which I illustrate below.
CLAIRE’S ORDEAL
• In 2006, the day after meeting her GP at Dumbarton Health Centre, two men came round our house and said my wife had to go to hospital and that I had no say in the matter.
• She had no illness. Her admission document contained false statements.
• In hospital my wife was cruelly forced to take medical treatment for no reason whatsoever.
• She was given a dangerous overdose of drugs
• She was assaulted by five male staff nurses attaining several bruises on her arms. I took photographs of these.
• She was subjected to an intimate physical exam without her consent. She was unconscious for much of the time.
• Our parish priest phoned the hospital but was warned away from being involved. To stop visits by her family, she was moved out of the area, and muzzled during transit.
• After 51 days she was allowed to leave hospital. When I came home, I found her slumped on the couch drugged up like a zombie.
• She remained subject to regular meetings and had to take these dangerous, harmful, pointless drugs under compulsion.
• About six months after leaving hospital we received a letter stating that Claire may possibly be given a long-acting injectable antipsychotic drug. I took this to our GP surgery and my family was then given a life ban from the practice. The ban still lasts today.
• The experience lasted 15 months.
• Claire later took legal action at Dumbarton Sheriff Court but I was not permitted to speak. The case was dismissed and we were given a legal bill of £25,000.
• Also in 2006, the practice of labelling someone as disabled and then treating them by force was outlawed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
MY ARREST
• In 2023, the day after attending a Labour councillor’s surgery, two police came round our house and said that I have been arrested and that I had to go to Clydebank police station immediately.
• I had committed no crime. The ridiculous false charges included threatening to remove my clothes.
• The police did not interview me before my arrest.
• My photograph was taken, I was fingerprinted and I was put on bail.
• My arrest appeared on the front page of a local newspaper.
• I was told I had to have legal representation and this cost me over £8,000.
• Due to the possibility of being wrongly convicted and losing my job I was given professional advice to employ King’s Counsel.
• I appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court four times.
• The witness twice declined to appear and I was acquitted.
• The experience lasted 15 months.
• In the book and film “ A Passage to India” by E.M.Forster the witness refused to testify and was then liable for the accused’s expenses.
• I have effectively paid Innocence Tax.
• I asked the Standards Commission, the police and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to investigate but they have all refused to do so.
• I asked the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Government to investigate and refund my expenses but they have refused to do so.
CONCLUSIONS
• We need stronger mechanisms to ensure individuals and institutions are held responsible for their actions, particularly in areas like government, business, and public services.
• There need to be more prosecutions for making false statements and abuse.
• Forced treatment should be abolished. There are no safeguards.
• Anyone acquitted of a crime should have their legal expenses refunded by the State.