THE SNP have confirmed nine candidates who have been selected by the party to contest the next General Election.
Among the announcements are four current MPs, three of whom will be standing in slightly different constituencies following boundary changes.
We told how Scotland is set to lose two MPs, down from 59 to 57, following a review of Westminster seats.
On Thursday afternoon, the party released the results of a number of branch selection contests, with SNP members selecting their preferred candidates.
The full list of candidates are:
- Aberdeenshire North and Moray East - Seamus Logan
- Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber - Brendan O'Hara
- East Kilbride and Strathaven - Grant Costello
- Glasgow East - David Linden Glasgow North - Alison Thewliss
- Lothian East - Iain Whyte
- Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey - Graham Leadbitter
- Stirling and Strathallan - Alyn Smith
- West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine - Glen Reynolds
O’Hara, currently the MP for Argyll and Bute, Thewliss, Glasgow Central, and Smith, Stirling, will fight for slightly different geographical seats with changed names at the next UK-wide vote.
Meanwhile, Linden, the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for Social Justice, will contest Glasgow East again for the party, which will also see some geographical changes, after the Glasgow Central seat, held by Thewliss, was divided up into surrounding constituencies.
“I'm honoured to have been selected by members as @theSNP candidate for Glasgow North and thank my brilliant fellow nominees for all they contributed to the contest,” Thewliss (below) said on Twitter/X.
“I will continue to work hard to represent Glasgow Central until a general election is called.”
Linden added: “Delighted to be selected to stand once again as @theSNP candidate for Glasgow East. Tackling Westminster’s cost of living crisis and making the case for our nation’s independence will be at the heart of our campaign to hold this seat.
“Onwards to #GE24! 🗳️ #voteSNP.”
Logan, contesting the Aberdeenshire North and Moray seat, is currently an SNP councillor for Fraserburgh and District on Aberdeenshire Council.
Reynolds, also an Aberdeenshire Council member, for the Banff and District ward, will contest the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine seat.
Another SNP councillor, Leadbitter, the former leader of Moray council for the party, is contesting the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey seat. He is currently co-leader of the SNP group and represents the Elgin City South ward.
Leadbitter also previously worked as a staffer for Angus Robertson during his time as an MP.
And, Costello (above) was confirmed as the party’s candidate for East Kilbride and Strathaven after the current MP for the area Lisa Cameron defected to the Tories on Thursday afternoon.
He said: “I am honoured to have been chosen to be the SNP's candidate here in EK and Strathaven - the place I’m proud to call home.
“This is an incredible part of Scotland - and I will work tirelessly to stand up for families across the constituency and deliver for our communities.”
It had been widely expected that she would be defeated in the selection contest by Costello, who had support from senior SNP politicians in the area.
The First Minister reacted harshly to Cameron’s defection, adding that she probably never “believed in the cause” of independence “in the first place”.
