Candidates get out on the streets to garner support
Campaigning for next month’s general election is now well underway across Perth and Kinross.
The candidates for both Perth and North Perthshire and Ochil and South Perthshire are now out canvassing voters and looking to garner as much support as they can before the election on Thursday, December 12.
For Perth and North Perthshire, SNP candidate Pete Wishart is looking to get re-elected, after winning the 2017 general election with a majority of just 21 votes.
He began his first full week of campaigning by welcoming the quadrupling of the seasonal workers pilot scheme.
He said:“The paltry 2500 that were previously allowed to come to the UK as part of the seasonal workers pilot scheme was clearly insufficient and was never going to be enough.
“I am pleased that the Tories now eventually recognise this themselves.
“All year I have been pushing the Tories to increase the numbers and to listen to growers in my constituency and to calls from the NFUS.”
He is up against Conservative candidate Angus Forbes, Pete Barrett for the Liberal Democrats and Stuart Powell for the Brexit Party and Angela Bretherton, who was confirmed as the Labour candidate this week.
She said:“I have witnessed first hand the devastating impact cuts to services have had on communities across Scotland.
“I have successfully campaigned to prevent schools and a local play and youth project from being closed.
“I have campaigned against the closure of local leisure facilities, organising over 200 local people to mobilise against these cuts.”
Meanwhile, Luke Graham, who is looking to retain his Ochil and South Perthshire seat, has also officially launched his election campaign.
He is up against John Nicholson of the SNP, Liberal Democrat Iliyan Stefanov and Labour candidate Lorna Robertson.
Mr Graham said:“This election is a crossroads for Scotland.
“It provides us the opportunity to put the division that has soured our country since 2014 behind us, and it’s this choice that I will be campaigning on - sorting Brexit and saying no to any more divisive referenda.”