Candidates are named
With one month of campaigning left, parties have confirmed their candidates for the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.
On May 6, South Lanarkshire residents will go to the polls to elect their MSPs for the next five years.
Only the SNP, Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives are standing in the region’s five constituencies while a host of other parties including the Greens, Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, the Freedom Alliance, the Communist Party and All for Unity are standing on the list vote.
At the last elections in 2011, the SNP won all five constituency seats in South Lanarkshire but only Christina McKelvie in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse and Clare Haughey in Rutherglen are standing for re-election.
Richard Lyle (Uddingston and Bellshill) and Linda Fabiani (East Kilbride) have announced their retirement while Aileen Campbell (Clydesdale) is standing down to spend more time with her family.
The candidates standing in the five South Lanarkshire constituencies are as follows: ■ Rutherglen (pictured on opposite page) Conservative, Lynne Nailon;Labour, James Kelly;Liberal Democrat, Sheila Thomson; SNP, Clare Haughey.
■ Clydesdale
Conservative, Eric Holford;Labour, Claudia Beamish;Liberal Democrat, Amanda Kubie; SNP, Mairi McAllan. ■ East Kilbride Conservative, Graham Simpson; Labour, Monique McAdams; Liberal Democrat, Paul McGarry; SNP, Colette Stevenson. ■ Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Conservative, Meghan Gallacher;Labour, Monica Lennon;Liberal Democrat, Mark McGeever; SNP, Christina McKelvie. ■ Uddingston and Bellshill Conservative, Bryan Flannagan; Labour, Frank McNally; Liberal Democrat, Dawn Allan; SNP, Stephanie Callaghan.