Politician adds her name to the Wall of Support, joining a host of individuals, companies and organisations
Aberdeen Donside MSP Jackie Dunbar has declared her support for the increasingly influential campaign for protection of title for electricians being run by SELECT, Scotland’s largest construction trade body.
The SNP politician, Deputy Convener of the Health, Social Care, and Sport Committee, has added her name to the organisation’s Wall of Support to demonstrate her backing for its long-running campaign for the regulation of the electrical industry.
She joins two other SNP converts to the cause – Maryhill and Springburn’s Bob Doris and South Scotland’s Emma Harper – who also publicly declared their support for protection of title for electricians at the SNP’s annual conference in Aberdeen.
The latest signatories to the Wall of Support are a major boost to SELECT’s campaign, which focuses on ensuring that only properly trained and qualified people can carry out vital, safety-critical electrical work in homes and businesses.
Ms Dunbar, who is also a member of the Education, Children and Young People Committee, said, “I agree that poor quality electrical work carries huge risks to people’s homes, businesses, and lives. That’s why I’m backing SELECT’s campaign to introduce protection of title.
“Regulation of the electrical industry is vital if we are to improve safety for both domestic and commercial consumers across Scotland.
“As householders are being discouraged from carrying out electrical work on a DIY basis, it is important that anyone they employ to do the work is appropriately trained and qualified.”
SELECT’s presence at the SNP conference also resulted in signatures from a host of other politicians, including councillors and 2026 election candidates Lloyd Melville, David Barratt, Simita Kumar, Elaine Thornton-Nicol, Alycia Hayes and John Redpath.
Alan Wilson, SELECT Managing Director, said: “It is very gratifying to see that support for the regulation of our industry continues to build. It is particularly important to attract support from political quarters as we continue to focus all our efforts in bringing the campaign to a successful conclusion.”
In Case You Missed it:
The Wall allows individuals, companies, and organisations to show their backing for professional recognition. By putting their names on a virtual brick in the Wall, supporters are taking a public stance that underlines their backing for legislation in Holyrood, which would make it an offence for someone to call themselves an electrician when they have no, or inadequate, qualifications.
As well as more than a third of MSPs, other bodies that have contributed a brick to the wall include the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB), Unite the Union, Electrical Safety First, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Scottish Association of Landlords, the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group and the Energy Saving Trust.
SELECT, which has been celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, has been campaigning for years with other leading industry bodies, such as the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT) and the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) to make sure that those who work in the industry do so in a safe and competent manner.
