Douglas Chapman (SNP)

Who is he?

SNP candidate for Dunfermline and West Fife.

He is 60 and married to a primary teacher with two adult children.

Douglas has lived in Dunfermline for 25 years. He grew up in West Lothian, attending West Calder High.

He admits he does not have a huge amount of time for hobbies, but loves politics. Douglas is also an "active Hibs fan", enjoys cooking and reading fiction.

This is his fourth time standing for Westminster.

Working life:

He has completed professional qualifications in personnel management at Napier University, Edinburgh.

Douglas worked for 26 years before getting involved in politics, mostly at TSB Scotland in branch banking, then personnel management.

He then worked for Bruce Crawford MSP for six years, covering Shadow Minister responsibilities in Transport, Energy and the Environment.

Douglas won his first Council by-election in Rosyth 1997, losing his seat in 2003, but regained it in 2007 and has been a Councillor since.

Mr Chapman was education spokesman when the SNP controlled Fife Council. Since 2012 he's been the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' Spokesperson for Education, Children and Young People.

SNP election pledges:

Modest spending increases of 0.5% a year, allowing £140 billion in extra spending.
Annual UK target of 100,000 affordable homes, with added spending benefits for Scotland as a result.
To increase the minimum wage to £8.70 by 2020
Restore the 50p top rate of income tax for people earning more than £150,000 a year.
Build an alliance of like-minded MPs against the renewal of Trident, instead using the funds to pay for schools and hospitals.
Retain the "triple lock" on pensions to rise at least 2.5% every year, and to protect the winter fuel allowance.

About Dunfermline & West Fife

Dunfermline is officially the second largest settlement in Fife, though some estimates say the town could have more than 50,000 residents, which would make it larger than Kirkcaldy.

Locals consider it a city due to Dunfermline Abbey, which contains the body of King Robert The Bruce.

The only other towns in the constituency are Rosyth, which is heavily reliant on the ship-building industry, and Inverkeithing. The rest is made up of smaller villages such as Blairhall, Cairneyhill, Crossgates, Culross, Oakley, Saline and Valleyfield.

Coal mining used to be the principal employer in the constituency until the industry's collapse in the 1980's, many jobs in the area now come from call centres for major businesses like BSkyB, Lloyds and Nationwide, as well as the large Amazon fulfillment centre.

Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie is from the area, and donated Pittencrieff Park to the community in 1903. Mr Carnegie donated around 90% of his $350 million fortune to good causes, that's around £4.76 billion in today's money. Numerous parts of Dunfermline are named after him.

The town is home to Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, who play in the SPFL League One, after years in the top division.

Appin Crecent, which leads to Dunfermline centre, Edinburgh, and Stirling east bound, and the rest of Fife west bound, has some of the highest recorded levels of air pollution in Scotland.

Peacocks and peahens have had the freedom of Dunfermline since the 1900's, and Pittencrief Park, or The Glen, is now home to a peafowl sanctuary.

The constituency has been a traditional Labour seat, though the Liberal Democrat's Willie Rennie won a by-election for the seat in 2006 following the death of Rachael Squire. He later lost to incumbent Thomas Docherty. Mr Docherty is defending a majority of 5,470, the smallest margin of victory in Fife in 2010.

The SNP took Dunfermline in the 2010 Scottish Parliament election, but then lost the seat in a by-election to Labour's Cara Hilton in 2013 after MSP Bill Walker resigned following a 12-month conviction for a string of historic domestic assaults.