FORMER members of the radical independence political movement Rise are fighting to oust the SNP in a Lanarkshire constituency.
Bryan Simpson, a parliamentary candidate for Rise at the 2016 Holyrood election, along with Sean Baillie, a former national organiser for Rise, have been campaigning for Labour’s candidate Angela Feeney in Motherwell and Wishaw.
Simpson was campaigning for Feeney on Saturday, and wrote on Twitter: “Solid team out for @angela_feeney in #Motherwell #Wishaw & #Bellshill today. 9 hours, hundreds of doors (many of which have never been chapped by any party) scores of new votes for a radical manifesto to transform the country #ForTheMany #GE2019.”
Baillie tweeted while campaigning in Motherwell and Wishaw on Friday: “Not only are we winning Labour votes, but we are also union organising on the doorstep. A different day, a different pain in my legs and feet but with each conversation we are a step closer to a Labour government. Out tomorrow from 10:30 message to get involved.”
The SNP’s Marion Fellows took the seat from Labour in 2015 and was re-elected in 2017, but with a majority of just 318.
READ MORE: Sturgeon warns Corbyn against stalling indyref2 until 2021
Simpson and Baillie could not be contacted by The National to see if they still support independence. However, the move by some on the radical left of the Yes movement to throw their weight behind Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party was also seen in 2017.
Cat Boyd, a former columnist for The National and a Holyrood candidate for Rise in 2016 who helped lead the radical independence movement in 2014, voted Labour in 2017.
It is understood that some people on the left who support independence regard a Corbyn government as the best way to bring transformative change across the UK, and believe it would pave the way to independence at a later date.
Some Yes supporters on the left have also raised concerns about the SNP’s growth commission which they believe would continue austerity.
The criticism has been denied by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who has pointed out the programme outlined would grow the economy and income tax revenue in part by attracting more people to live and work in Scotland.
Corbyn has said he is opposed to independence, and that a second independence referendum would not be a priority in the early years of a Labour government.
However, he has also stated he would not block a new vote if there was a mandate for one in the 2021 Holyrood election.
READ MORE: John McDonnell ignores independence in last-ditch appeal to Scots voters
The First Minister has opened the door to propping up a Labour minority government in return for powers to hold a second independence referendum.
Commenting, Fellows argued voters wanting an opportunity to decide Scotland’s future should back the SNP.
She said: “The SNP is the only party running in Motherwell and Wishaw which will defend the right of the Scottish people to decide their own future – not have it decided for us by Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn.
“A vote for the SNP is a vote to lock the Tories out of power, end austerity and put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.
“Unlike Labour, we will not spend billions on nuclear weapons on the Clyde while families are forced to turn to foodbanks.”
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Labour’s positive, energetic campaign is the real movement for real change in this election. Over the past few weeks we have attracted a broad base of support from across the divisions of constitutional politics.
“While the SNP’s only offer is constitutional change at some point in the future, if Labour wins on Thursday, we can start transforming Scotland on Friday, shifting wealth and power from the few to the many.”
Meanwhile, former Labour supporters who are now Tory MSPs – Adam Tomkins and Annie Wells – will be campaigning in Motherwell and Wishaw today in a bid to persuade traditional Labour voters to back the Tories on Thursday. They are joining Tory candidate Meghan Gallacher at a rally in Bothwell this morning.
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