LABOUR and the SNP have chosen their candidates for the Airdrie and Shotts by-election triggered by the incumbent stepping down.
Neil Gray has stepped down as the area’s MP in order to contest the Scottish Parliament seat covering the same area in North Lanarkshire.
A by-election will take place for the House of Commons seat on May 13, a week after Scots go to the polls for the Holyrood election.
Gray held the seat for the SNP in the 2019 election with 45% of the vote. Labour came second on 32%.
Modern studies teacher Anum Qaisar-Javed will contest the seat for the SNP on May 13. Local councillor Kenneth Stevenson will be the Scottish Labour candidate.
Qaisar-Javed said: “The SNP is leading Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic and champions fairness and equality, so it is fitting that I, and other women of colour, are representing the party.
“My selection to stand for the SNP in this seat is another step forward – but not an end point – in the advancement of minorities’ rights and representation in Scotland.”
Stevenson said: “ I have lived my whole life in North Lanarkshire and I have been proud to serve as a Scottish Labour councillor, putting Labour values into action on a daily basis.
“I look forward to taking Labour’s distinctive message of a National Recovery Plan to the people of Airdrie and Shotts in this by-election.”
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