Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a McLaren i Edinburgh i mua i tana neke ki Livingston ka neke ki West Calder, i noho ai ia i te nuinga o tona tamarikitanga. Ko tana tupuna tupuna he kaimau hiriwa, he mema hoki no te Rōpū Mahi Motuhake i West Calder. Ko tana papa he mema o te Communist Party o Great Britain, a muri ake ko te Democratic Left Scotland. Ko tōna whaea he mema o mua o te Socialist Workers Party. Ko tōna whānau he kaitiaki mō te pōti "Ae, Ae" i te
Te pōtitanga i te tau 1979 mō te whakawātea o Scotland.