The election for Edinburgh South in next May's Holyrood election has taken another interesting twist. Already the former council leader Donald Anderson had been selected by Labour to take on Liberal Democrat MSP and former city councillor Mike Pringle again in the contest.
Now in as a replacement for Graham Sutherland, who stood down earlier in the year for personal reasons, is one of Mike Pringles own kinfolk has been selected to stand for the SNP. Robert Holland who has been selected is the son of the MSP's cousin.
Mr Holland has alrady surprised Tory voters in Edinburgh South by telling them that their vote is a wasted vote and only he can beat Labour and the Lib Dems. Fighting talk from the party that was in 4th place in 2003 and had an even poorer showing last May when then managed to lose half their votes in the larger Westminster constituency.
While Mr Holland head may be up in cloud cuckoo land, as not even his leader Alex Salmond has this seat on any list of potential gains, Edinburgh South is already gearing up to be another fight between Liberal Democrats and Labour. Although this time for a pleasent change the defender is not a Blair lackey.
3 comments:
Speaking of candidates being replaced...
How is Mr Young taking it dow we know?
Oh come on Stephen. This is just as equally petty.
Are you suggesting he say I'm going to lose so don't bother voting for me?
If saying that coming from fourth to win is cloud cuckoo land what does that say of Nicol Stephen and his assertion he can lead the largest party next year?
Glass houses and all that.
The defender may not be a Blair lackey as such but he is supporting Blair's party in the executive. Holland's set himself up quite naturally as the challenger to the Labour-led executive parties.
What's the point of voting for Mike Pringle when it keeps Blair's party in power will be his message.
With students now aware of Mike Pringle's vote on fees he doesn't have that luxury any more.
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1039052006
So Holland can break into the not insubstantial student vote in Edinburgh South which Mike Pringle is losing, and with his wafer thin majority I wouldn't count on him holding.
Will it help Holland win? Personally I doubt it but it would ensure a stronger voting base for next time around.
Mike Pringle's only hope is if the Liberals walk out of the Executive. Something they should have done after Dunfermline to cement the impression of them being the main opposition in Scotland to Labour. Why they didn't baffles me. They've got most of what they wanted.
The longer they stay in there the greater the risk they run of being seen as allies of an increasingly unpopular Labour party.
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