He joined the SNP in 1976. He was a member of the Party's National Executive and National Council and the Local Government Committee. He stood unsuccessfully as a SNP candidate in elections for the
House of Commons on three occasions: for
Renfrew West and Inverclyde in
1987 and
1992, then for
West Renfrewshire in
1997. He twice stood for election to the
European Parliament in
Strathclyde West, losing to Labour's
Hugh McMahon in both
1989 and
1994. In the
1999 Scottish election, he stood as a constituency candidate in
West Renfrewshire, where he finished second behind
Labour's Trish Godman. He was elected by the regional list. In Holyrood, he was defence spokesman for the SNP. He did not stand for election in 2003. ==Personal life==