The National:

EMMA Harper is putting health at the front and centre of her campaign to take Tory Finlay Carson’s Galloway seat.

The SNP missed out on winning the seat in 2016 by only 1514 votes, but this time round Harper believes focusing on the rural issues in the area will bring voters around.

The National spoke to Harper in Castle Douglas about the issues affecting the area and why an independence referendum would be good for residents in the constituency.

Harper, a former mental health nurse, said that health and wellbeing were her top priorities for the next parliament as the country recovers from the pandemic.

She said: “The manifesto launched by the First Minister has some fantastic NHS actions that want to be progressed, the health and wellbeing and the mental health strategy I think is phenomenal.

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“I’m the mental health cross-party group co-convener, so in my background of being a nurse, I’ve gravitated to a lot of groups that are health-related like dementia, diabetes and lung health, and mental health as well, so the actions the First Minister has presented for tackling isolation, loneliness, mental health, and young councillors for young people at school – they call them youth information officers in Dumfries and Galloway – this is work that will help identify people that are at risk from further deterioration of mental health before they are acutely needing support.

“Reviving the NHS has been thrown up in the air because of Covid so I want to see that taken forward as well.”

Retaining young people in the area, an issue that affects many rural regions in Scotland, and making sure services are there for the large elderly population, is also something that Harper wants to work on.

She explained: “We need to have people with young families move here, have their kids going to the rural schools to keep them open, keep the rural shops and post offices open, so the ability to have a wonderful region – which we do have in Dumfries and Galloway – a region where we can invite people to come and live and have local access to good public health services, good support services, venues and open spaces, that’s something we need to champion.

“Basically, the biggest thing is how do we support for health and social care for our older population? And our younger people, how do we keep them or recruit them back if they get their education?”

The issue is certainly something that resonates with voters, in Castle Douglas The National spoke to Paula Doherty, 44, a Dumfries & Galloway council worker.

She said: “I think we need to find the employment to retain young people, and it’s not just the employment, it’s the opportunities in employment, you can get a job in the tourism sector no bother at times, but is that the jobs they’re looking for?

“People leave the area when the bright lights of the city lure them away, and then they come back when they retire which has an impact on our economy, because they’re not earning, they’re usually using services or otherwise.”

Brian Quinn, from Castle Douglas, said he wasn’t sure who he was going to vote for but was impressed by the First Minister’s handling of the pandemic.

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He said: “I think Nicola Sturgeon has done a not bad job, if people stick to the rules, then everything will be fine. I don’t support independence; everyone is fighting each other and I don’t agree with it.

“It’s hard to say who I’m going to vote for just now, I’m undecided, but I think the SNP should take the seat over the Tories.”

Meanwhile, in Stranraer, The National spoke to younger voters who were backing the SNP.

Shaun Smith, 29, a business owner in the town said he would be voting for the SNP because he trusts Nicola Sturgeon.

He said: “I think she speaks for what she believes in and I think she’s very genuine, I think she’s got us on the right road for recovery.

“I would definitely vote for independence, I think we need to have our voice heard, I think the country is already divided so I don’t see what difference a referendum would make. We play each other at football and lots of sports and they talk about the four nations, so if we’re four nations then why aren’t we already divided?

“I think the main thing going forward should be public safety and how we recover from Covid, I think Nicola’s work through the whole of Covid has been quite remarkable.”

The National:

Ashley Wilson (above), 28, a private teacher, also said he would be voting for SNP but had concerns about independence.

He said: “I think the SNP have been the most faithful to their manifesto, so I think I might vote for them.

“I think Nicola Sturgeon might step down soon so they could do with maybe electing someone else. I think she’s done a great job, but I think they could do with some new blood.

“I feel the same way about it [independence] as I do about England wanting independence from Europe, it comes from the same feeling of being out of control.

“It may appear different, but England has felt that the European Union has taken advantage of it for years and the Parliament has been dictating what it can do but that’s not the case, so it’s small man syndrome.

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“I was against the independence in Europe so I’m against it in Scotland as well.”

But, despite being against independence, Wilson said that he thinks more powers need to be given to the Scottish Parliament.

He said: “I think something needs to be done about the amount that legislation can be performed by the Scottish Government without the English Parliament being able to veto bills and legislation passed in the Scottish Parliament.

“I think less money needs to be given from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament.

“I think the Scottish Parliament needs to generate its own income more and the Barnett formula is inconsistent, so they need to lower the figure so they can give it more consistent amounts, so I think deviating from English law would benefit Scotland but not separating completely.”