JOANNA Cherry and Angus Robertson look set for battle over who becomes the SNP candidate in Edinburgh Central.
Cherry, the party’s home affairs spokeswoman at Westminster, has sent a strong signal she could bid to stand in the key seat at next year’s Holyrood elections.
It was reported by the Edinburgh Evening News that Cherry, who led the successful Supreme Court legal action against Boris Johnson’s attempt to prorogue parliament last year, said: “Edinburgh Central is my home branch, I have been a member there since 2008, and there is a substantial overlap with my Edinburgh South West constituency.
“Several fellow branch members have approached me and encouraged me to put my hat into the ring. It is only right that I give these requests serious consideration and speak with my local branches in Central and South West.
“There will undoubtedly be a strong contest for the selection and that shows the breadth of talent in the party.”
READ MORE: Angus Robertson on bid to unseat Davidson in Edinburgh Central seat
Cherry was re-elected as MP for Edinburgh South West in December with an increased majority of 11,982. But friends said it would be perfectly possible for her to combine the roles of MP and MSP.
Edinburgh Central’s current MSP is former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who has been tipped for a seat in the House of Lords.
She is to stand as MSP ahead of the Holyrood election in May next year.
In a TV interview earlier this week Robertson, the former SNP Westminster and deputy leader, called for a by-election if Davidson took up a seat in the Lords before the Holyrood election.
Local councillor Alison Dickie, who was defeated as the SNP’s candidate in 2016 by Davidson, is also considering putting her hat into the ring.
Robertson lost his Westminster seat of Moray in the 2017 General Election and subsequently set up a pro-independence research company Progress Scotland.
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