THE former Yes Scotland chair has backed a former SNP MP to win the town he used to serve.

Dennis Canavan was the Falkirk West MP from 1974-2000. He entered Westminster as a Labour politician and left as an independent.

He also serving as the independent MSP for Falkirk West from 1999-2007 before going on to become the chair for Yes Scotland's advisory board in the run up to the 2014 referendum.

Canavan has now backed the SNP's candidate Michelle Thomson to win Falkirk East on May 6.

It's been held by the SNP's Angus MacDonald since 2011, but he is now stepping down.

MacDonald secured more than 51% of the vote in the 2016 contest, with second placed Labour trailing by more than 8300 votes.

The National:

Thomson was the Edinburgh West MP from 2015-17, when she stood down at Theresa May's snap general election.

She's latterly run the Momentous Change consultancy with fellow ex-MP Roger Mullin. 

Canavan will appear in a Facebook live session with Thomson on Sunday.

The pair previously collaborated on the referendum campaign and Canavan commented: "I worked with Michelle Thomson when I chaired the Yes Scotland Campaign in the lead-up to the 2014 referendum.

"The Scottish Parliament needs more people of Michelle’s calibre and the people of Falkirk East will benefit from having a representative who will work hard to represent their interests."

She said: "I am delighted to receive this endorsement from Dennis Canavan. 

READ MORE: Ex-Yes Scotland chair Dennis Canavan in independence poll warning

"He is viewed with huge affection and respect across all of Falkirk district and retains his belief that only an independent Scotland will be able to meet the needs and aspirations of the Scots.

"I hope as many SNP and Yes supporters as possible will tune in to hear our talk. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience and we can all learn from his political journey."