John Reid was born in Lanarkshire. The son of a postman and a factory worker he attended St. Patrick's High School in Coatbridge and went on to read History at Stirling University, gaining a PhD.John has served at every level in the Labour Party locally, from branch to constituency. From 1979 to 1983 he was Research Officer for the Labour Party in Scotland before becoming political adviser to Labour Leader, Neil Kinnock from 1983 to 1985. He went on to become Scottish Organiser of Trade Unionists for Labour from 1986 to 1987.John Reid has been a Lanarkshire MP for the past 18 years, representing Motherwell North and Hamilton North and Bellshill. Following a decision by the Boundary Commission to disband his previous seat John was recently elected as MP for Airdrie and Shotts Parliamentary Constituency at the 2005 general election.With a 10-year ministerial career which saw him undertake nine different ministerial jobs, John is able to talk on most things but listed below is a few key areas:- Leadership- Creation of New Labour- Leading and transforming poorly performing organisations- Northern Ireland Peace process- Change management- Learning from the military- Modernising and introducing choice to public services- Terror threat- Insecurity in the 21st Century- Globalisation- NHSJohn Reid is also an incredibly engaging after dinner speaker regaling anecdotes and stories from his 20 years as a Labour MP.