A FORMER Alba member who quit the party in a row over gender recognition has announced she will stand as an independent candidate at the upcoming General Election.
Eva Comrie said on Tuesday she will contest the newly created Alloa and Grangemouth constituency at this year’s election.
She will be up against SNP MP John Nicolson and Labour hopeful Brian Leishman.
Comrie made waves when she announced she was quitting Alba this week, having been an early defector to Alex Salmond’s breakaway party. She had served as the party's equalities convenor.
She left after a row with Yvonne Ridley, who stepped down as Alba’s women's convener after saying she believed trans women were “assigned male at birth,” putting her at odds with the party line on trans issues.
READ MORE: Alba Party rocked by resignation of key figure in row over gender recognition
Announcing her intention to stand via the pro-independence blog Barrhead Boy, Comrie wrote: “ I have resolved to stand as an independent candidate for the constituency of Alloa and Grangemouth at the forthcoming General Election.
“My home is in the wee coonty of Clackmannanshire and that’s where my heart lies. Like so much of Scotland though, Clackmannanshire is riven by poverty and deprivation – unnecessary in a land of plenty.”
She added: “Scotland doesn’t need persuaded to support independence; Scotland cannot afford the alternative. Scotland deserves a government of inspired, inspirational, driven leaders, visionaries in tune with the needs and aspirations of our people. Not rule by remote control from a foreign country.”
An Alba spokesperson said: "A key issue at the General Election in this constituency will be the Grangemouth oil refinery.
"Both the Scottish and UK governments have let the workers at Grangemouth and the communities they help sustain down.
"Alba Party Depute leader Kenny MacAskill MP spearheaded the launch of a campaign to save the refinery last month and we will continue to keep our focus on saving this strategic industrial asset for Scotland.
"Eva attended the launch of the campaign and we will be pleased if she continues to support Alba Party’s campaign to save Grangemouth."
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