THE Scottish Greens are to fight Edinburgh North and Leith in a bid to unseat the SNP’s Deidre Brock at next month’s snap General Election.
Lorna Slater, an engineer and party activist who lives in the constituency, was selected as the party’s candidate on Monday night after a branch meeting where members also opted not to fight Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West.
The SNP will be hoping the decision by the Greens not to stand in Edinburgh West and Edinburgh South may help their campaigns in the seats by not splitting the pro-independence vote.
Nicola Sturgeon’s party is hoping to unseat Labour’s Ian Murray in Edinburgh South, as well as retain Edinburgh West after the SNP-turned-Independent MP Michelle Thomson stood down.
However, such an outcome would depend on Green supporters in Edinburgh South and Edinburgh West voting for the SNP and not switching to a Unionist party.
Slater will face a significant challenge under the first past the post voting system. The seat was taken by Brock in May 2015 with a 5597 majority over Labour, but the Greens believe a growing number of voters want to back an alternative pro-independence and pro-EU party to the SNP. It has two councillors in the area.
“This is an unnecessary election,” said co-convener of Edinburgh Greens Alys Mumford, who claimed it was called by Theresa May in a bid to divert attention away from Brexit and allegations of misspending by Conservative MPs ahead of the May 2015 vote.
“After a successful council campaign in which Greens increased our vote share in Edinburgh and the number of councillors from five to eight, our members really want to get on with the vital community-based work to make Edinburgh a greener and fairer city.
“However, we know people in the capital want to hear a Green voice directly as part of the UK election. We also recognise that an increasing number of people in Edinburgh expect to vote Green in any election and we want to ensure that at least some people have that opportunity. That is why we have decided to contest the seat of Edinburgh North and Leith.”
Slater, who lives just off Leith Walk, added: “I am delighted to have been selected as the prospective Green candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith for the UK election. It is vital the city hears a Green vision of the kind of country Scotland can be.”
Yesterday’s announcement follows the Greens’ decision not to stand in Moray, where the Tories are fighting hard to win the seat of SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson.
Slater joins party co-convener Patrick Harvie as one of two General Election candidates for the Scottish Greens. Harvie is challenging the SNP’s Patrick Grady in Glasgow North. The Greens’s decision not to stand in a number of constituencies has been attacked by the Tories.
Yesterday it emerged the Greens will field too few candidates to qualify for an election broadcast. The party fielded 32 candidates in May 2015. To qualify for a party election broadcast for the General Election, a party must stand in at least ten constituencies.
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