TENSIONS are high this weekend in one of the SNP’s target seats after a selection rift some fear may cost it success in 2021.
Six hopefuls have asked local members to make them the official candidate for Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire. It’s been held by well-respected Labour MSP Jackie Baillie since 1999, when the Scottish Parliament was reinstated.
Baillie, who became the depute leader of Scottish Labour earlier this year, has a reputation as a strong constituency MSP but has been defending a dwindling majority in recent contests.
There were just 109 votes between her and the second-placed SNP in 2016 and veteran nationalist activists told the Sunday National that, after years of building up their local base, they believe 2021 is the year they must win the seat.
But the selection contest has been marred by one row over the vetting rejection of Caroline McAllister, the deputy leader of
SNP-controlled West Dunbartonshire Council, and another over the National Executive Committee’s eleventh-hour cancellation of hustings.
Officials ruled the format planned by the local constituency association, which would have taken an interview format, did not meet requirements in a decision which prompted anger from convenor Graeme McCormick.
A head-to-head alternative was held last week but was oversubscribed, with more than 100 people trying to log in. The SNP said the party’s licence for the digital events limits them to 100 users.
But sources told the Sunday National that the incidents have frustrated the selection contest and given rise to internal frustrations.
One said: “This is all very avoidable and very unnecessary. We’re coming up to what will be the most important Scottish Parliament election yet and we need to make sure we’re all working together to get the best result.
“That’s what should happen here and still can happen, but some of the decisions taken have just created problems we shouldn’t have had.”
Another said: “Jackie Baillie is beatable, but she’s not going to be easy to beat. If we can do it, it will be narrow. Unless there’s a massive national swing against Labour, which we are currently seeing something of, she has enough local profile to hold on. For us to take it, it will only be by a few hundred votes – we’ll need to be on top form.”
A third stated: “HQ needs to bring relationships back together after this is done. We’re a much bigger party than we used to be and the members need to be heard.”
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