Mike Arnott

Mike Arnott

Dundee Trades Union Council Secretary, Mike Arnott, was born on 4th August 1962, at King's Lynn, and spent the early part of his life at Hunstanton in Norfolk. He attended Hunstanton County Primary School and Wymondham College [http://www.wymondhamcollege.co.uk] before moving to Dundee to study Physics at Dundee University in October 1980.He joined Dundee University Left Alliance and was elected Treasurer of Dundee University Students' Association (DUSA) in his first (and only) year. He left University in 1981 and joined the Dundee Young Communist League (Britain), becoming branch secretary, going on to chair the Scottish Committee and join the General Council. He started work with Dundee District Council in 1982, becoming a shop steward with GMB [http://www.gmb.org.uk/] , and serving on both the Scottish GMB and Scottish TUC Youth Committees. He also became a delegate to Dundee Trades Council [http://www.dundeetuc.org.uk] in 1983 and was active in their Youth Section and in the Dundee Jobs for Youth Campaign. In the mid 80s he also participated in the activities of the local Anti Apartheid group, Dundee Miners' Relief Committee and was both Chair and Secretary of Dundee Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). He stood for the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in the 1986 Tayside Regional Council elections, in the Hilltown/Coldside ward.He is Secretary of Dundee Trades Union Council (elected 1994) and chairs the GMB Apex Tayside Local Authorities branch. Over many years he has also held positions on local groups including Dundee Resources Centre for the Unemployed, Dundee Social Forum and Dundee Anti Poverty Forum. Mike has protested at the G8 Summits in Genoa (2001), Gleneagles (2005) and Heiligendamm (2007), helping to organise the 2005 protests as part of the group G8 Alternatives [http://www.g8alternatives.org.uk] . He has also been a delegate at the European Social Forums of 2002 (Florence), 2003 (Paris) and 2004 (London) [http://www.fse-esf.org/] . In July 2002 he was one of the Friarton 4, arrested at an anti GM crop protest in Fife [http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2003/06/71637.html] . In 2006 he walked from Faslane to Holyrood as part of the 'Long Walk for Peace' and in 2007 he was appointed Rector's Assessor of Dundee University [http://www.somis.dundee.ac.uk/court/com/Biography/arnott.htm] by the new Rector, Craig Murray [http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/] . He is also a Trustee and Committee member of the International Brigade Memorial Trust [http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/] .