Mr Beattie was born and raised in the area: educated at Langholm, then Lockerbie Academy, before completing a Masters degree in politics at Glasgow University.
During a successful journalistic career, he covered the Northern Ireland peace talks, the death of Donald Dewar and among international highlights interviewed Nelson Mandela.
He received a special award for his work during the 2005 London bombings as part of the BBC News team.
An active trade unionist and anti-austerity activist, he campaigned against Government policies including the Housing and Trade Union Bills.
Elected a Labour councillor in 2014, he now works mainly on communications and campaigning for a refugee charity and a human rights organisation.
Mr Beattie, who is married with two children, has maintained his links with Dumfriesshire where he still has a home?
He says he considers himself a proud Borderer, his grandfather was a Langholm Cornet and he is also author of three published books about the history of football.
Mr Beattie said: “Like many people from the area, my career took me away from the region and I am lucky enough that it allowed me to travel the world and see some incredible sights but nothing really compares to home.
“Unfortunately, in recent years we have seen the area suffer from the impact of austerity and a decline in local industries which has led to fewer local opportunities for young people and local services suffering as a result of the cuts imposed by the Tory and SNP Government’s.”
He added: “We badly need an MP who will get their sleeves rolled up and be a local champion to start reversing that decline”?
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