She was the parliamentary election agent for Norman Hogg at the 1979 general election at Dunbartonshire East, when he ousted the Scottish National Party's MP Margaret Bain (later Ewing). She remained as Hogg's election agent for the 1983, 1987 and 1992 elections in his new Cumbernauld and Kilsyth constituency. She was elected a councillor on Strathclyde Regional Council in 1980 and served for two years. She was a member of the Scottish Labour Party Executive from 1984 until 1997 and Chair of the Scottish Labour Party from 1992 to 1993. From 1987 until 1991, she was a member of the national executive of the GMB Union.