John Letford is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 politician. He currently serves as the Lord Provost of Dundee, as well as a councillor in his local ward of Lochee

Lochee

Lochee is an area in the west of Dundee, Scotland. Until the 19th century, it was a separate town, but was eventually surrounded by the expanding Dundee...

.

Born in Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, he moved to Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

 in 1943 and later served an apprenticeship in the Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company

Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company

The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company based in Dundee on the east coast of Scotland.-History:...

 shipyard

Shipyard

Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

 as a marine coppersmith. He also served in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 from 1956 until 1958.

In 1989 he began working as a training manager with Community Industry Rathbone, where he remained for 15 years before becoming a councillor in the Tayside Regional Council and Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 Chairman for Camperdown

Camperdown, Dundee

Camperdown is an area of Dundee, Scotland, best known for Camperdown Park, which is the largest park in the city.The name is Dutch in origin, being the English version of Kamperduin, a village of the North Holland province on the North Sea coast of the Netherlands...

.

He has served on several committees with matters concerning sports, theatre, education, local services and disabled associations and has been involved with Dundee City Council since 1994 where before being appointed Lord Provost

Lord Provost

A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...

 in 2003, a post which he regained after the Scottish local elections, 2007

Scottish local elections, 2007

The Scottish local elections, 2007 were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as Scottish Parliament elections and local elections in parts of England...

.

He currently resides in the Charleston

Charleston, Dundee

Charleston is an area located on the northwest edge of Dundee, Scotland. Menzieshill is located to the immediate southwest, Camperdown borders it to the north, and Lochee is to the east. The area is home to two primary schools - Charleston Primary and St Clement's Primary - as well as a library...

area of the city.

On 24 March 2009, Letford resigned from the Labour Group on Dundee City Council, and became an independent councillor.