Ex-Labour councillor backs SNP candidate
An ex-Labour councillor for Bannockburn this week announced her backing for SNP candidate Alyn Smith in tomorrow’s (Thursday) General Election.
Betty Kennedy, who lives in Bannockburn, served between 1986 and 1994 as a Labour councillor for the former Stirling District Council.
An SNP spokesperson said Ms Kennedy joined the party at the beginning of the current General Election campaign, almost two months ago.
However, on a personal level, she campaigned for the SNP in Bannockburn at the last Stirling Council elections in 2017.
SNP supporters are hoping her intervention will prove influential as they bid to defeat Conservative candidate for Stirling Stephen Kerr who is defending a 148 majority.
Ms Kennedy said:“In the Stirling constituency, the choice is between Alyn Smith or Boris Johnson’sTory candidate. Labour simply doesn’t have enough support in this area to keep the Tories out. Labour has seriously lost its way and at the European election earlier this year received just six per cent of the vote in the Stirling area.
“TheTory Government is bad for Scotland and for Stirling. They have introduced a deeply damaging welfare system and have dramatically cut public services – and Boris Johnson threatens our NHS through a trade deal with Donald Trump once he has taken us out of Europe without a deal.
“We need to elect an MP on Thursday who will help starve Boris Johnson of the parliamentary majority that he wants in order to do what he likes to our country, and that person is Alyn Smith.”
Mr Smith said:“Betty has worked tirelessly for the community during her time as a Labour councillor for Bannockburn.
“Betty is one of many people who are former-supporters of the Labour Party and are coming towards the SNP in this election.”
In last week’s Observer, we told how former Labour Bannockburn and Eastern Villages branch chairperson Alistair Weir was backing Mr Kerr in the current election. He was thrown out of the Labour Party for supporting Mr Kerr in the 2017 General Election.
Stirling Constituency Labour Party chairperson Mike Robbins said:“Only Labour or the Tories can form a Government. If you want to see Boris Johnson out of Downing Street and Labour in power you must vote Labour on Thursday. There is no shortcut to a Labour Government through the SNP. Mrs Kennedy has been an SNP supporter for several years now so her views are hardly news.”
Boris Johnson threatens our NHS through a trade deal with Donald Trump Betty Kennedy