Big hitters Swinney and Fraser battle it out again
John Swinney is the favourite to take the Perthshire North seat for the third time next month.
Mr Swinney has been an MSP since 1999, first for Tayside North and then the Perthshire seat from 2011 after the constituency was redrawn slightly.
In 2016, the deputy first minister won nearly 49 per cent of the vote to defeat Tory Murdo Fraser - who had to make do with a seat on the list - with a majority of 3336.
The pair will again battle it out for votes in the region.
In an interview with our sister title the Blairgowrie Advertiser this week, Mr Swinney said the recovery from COVID was his short-term priority and that voters were misled in the lead up to the 2014 independence referendum.
Mr Swinney said: “We’ve got to focus directly on the recovery from COVID and that’s the short-term priority to get all of that work undertaken so that we can rebuild the country out of COVID.
“To enable us to do that I think we’ve got to have the choice to move on to independence and we want to do that at the most practical, early option within the next parliamentary term.
“So I think we should get our priorities focused on recovering from COVID and dealing with the COVID emergency and then give people the choice on that important question.”
On the 2014 vote, he added: “[Voters]were told if they voted no it was the best way to guarantee their membership of the European Union and Perthshire voted emphatically to stay in the European Union, so people essentially lost part of the proposition that they voted for in 2014.”
Getting his campaign underway this week, Mr
Fraser said the people of Scotland needed “change”. He added: “People voting in this election will be faced with a stark choice – to vote for a party whose main mission is to rebuild the
candidate Murdo Fraser says country needs “change” nation by focusing on supporting local jobs, local businesses and the hospitality sector, protecting our local health services, including Perth Royal Infirmary, and fighting for faster, more reliable and fairly priced broadband, or to vote for a party whose sole aim is to introduce another divisive referendum.
“The SNP has failed the people of Scotland on a range of issues including education, health, the drugs crisis and are engaged in a civil war among themselves.”
Ryan Smart will stand for the Labour Party.
He said he would focus on issues such as the loss of banks and post offices, rural poverty and a lack of public transport in rural areas.
He added: “I will fight a strong campaign for the seat and give a fresh perspective on the issues affecting those in Perthshire North.
“Coming from a working class community, I understand the many issues faced by people from worrying about paying bills to food insecurity.
“It is time we stopped divisive politics around a referendum and focus on the recovery, which this constituency is so much in need of in the aftermath of COVID-19.”
Cllr Peter Barrett will stand for the Liberal Democrats.
Speaking when his candidacy was confirmed, he said: “I want Scottish education to be the best again and to support young people whose education has been affected by COVID with more in-class support for children who need it.
“We will also work with teachers to improve literacy and numeracy.”
The Scottish Family Party will also run in the constituency and will be represented by Don Marshall.