Scottish Greens announce candidate to challenge David Mundell

Mundell has been the representative for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweedale in the Scottish Borders continually since 2005.

He was sacked from the role of Scottish Secretary when Boris Johnson took office in 2019, replaced by Alister Jack, and has since been on the backbenches.

And now, the Greens have confirmed that Dominic Ashmole is standing against Mundell in his seat.

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The SNP’s Kim Marshall will also contest the seat, as will Scottish Labour’s Nick Chisholm.

Former healthcare technology project manager Ashmole, who stood previously in the Holyrood and Council elections, was selected following a ballot of Green party members throughout Dumfries & Galloway, South Lanarkshire and the Scottish Borders.

“I’m grateful to party members for this new opportunity to represent the Greens,” Ashmole said, after his selection was announced.

“When I stood for the Council in 2022, our vote share trebled to more than 16%. I believe we can build on that momentum and send a serious message to Westminster.”

“Many voters have lost faith in the traditional parties. They don’t want a government that blames refugees and abandons climate action.

“Nor can they support others who continue promoting false hopes and a reckless growth agenda that has undermined the Earth’s capacity to sustain life.

“Greens recognise that to live through these times, we must move beyond a global system that is fuelled by exploitation and consumerism, and controlled by the super-rich.”

Ashmole added that the Tories only “narrowly” beat the SNP in the seat in 2019 and voters “might assume it's a two-horse race”.

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Mundell won with 22,611 votes (46%), while the SNP’s Amanda Burgauer returned 18,830 votes (38,3%).

First Minister Humza Yousaf has urged voters to back his party to make Scotland Tory-free at the next election, as the SNP are in second place in the six seats to be contested.

But Ashmole urged voters to back him as the Greens candidate.

“Both of those parties have massively lost support since then,” he said.

“So I'm asking voters to back a dark, Green horse. Let's shock the system that is failing us.

“Let's make this election about us setting out on a new path. Because we will need to turn to each other as we live through the difficult times the political elites have led us into.”

“A vote for the Greens is for the courage to break with the past, to build resilience in our communities, and to face a difficult future with solidarity and compassion.”

Ashmole was speaking at a South Scotland campaign launch attended by Scottish Greens Co-Leader Patrick Harvie MSP, Maggie Chapman MSP and Ariane Burgess MSP.