THEY hail from Catalonia and Ireland – but could become some of Scotland’s next MSPs.
Councillor Colm Merrick and activist Valentina Servera Clavell have both declared their intentions to run on SNP tickets for Holyrood in 2021.
Merrick, who represents Giffnock and Thornliebank on East Renfrewshire Council, wants the party to make him the choice to take on former Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw in Eastwood.
And Clavell, an SNP activist and president of the youth wing of the European Free Alliance, has Clydebank and Milngavie in her sights as long-serving SNP incumbent Gil Paterson steps down.
Both face contests, with Alex Kerr, a member of the SNP's National Executive Committee, also seeking selection in Eastwood and “Glasgow Girl” refugee campaigner and trade unionist Roza Salih doing so in Clydebank and Milngavie.
Clavell, who is just 21, describes herself as a “Catalan New Scot” and experienced deprivation while growing up, using foodbanks and undergoing eviction. She said her age “does not define” her, adding: “Like many in Clydebank & Milngavie, I have suffered under austerity politics by a government I did not vote for. Scotland has already carved its own identity as a leader on the world stage. It is time Scotland takes its place as such and becomes an independent country.”
Merrick settled in Scotland after meeting his wife, who is from Lewis, and has been here for more than 30 years, building a career in IT before focusing on politics.
He managed MP Kirsten Oswald’s Westminster campaign in December, and said: “Part of my family has lived in Eastwood for several generations. I know the area well.
“Brexit has shamed the Tories in Eastwood and beyond – remember there was a 75%-25% split here in favour of Remain.
“We can no longer sit back and allow the Johnson and Cummings cabals to lead us further up the garden path. For too long the voices of Eastwood residents have been ignored.”
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