IT’S one of the safest SNP seats in Scotland but a new face in Dundee City East, although not to Scottish politics, could make this election far more interesting than expected.
Since 2003, former finance secretary Shona Robison has held the Dundee East seat in the Scottish Parliament, but set to step into her shoes is Stephen Gethins, currently the MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.
Gethins will bring Westminster experience but could face the challenge of reconnecting with a devolved electorate.
Speaking to The National, it’s clear the MP knows the legacy left by Robinson, and the gap he has to fill.
“There really is such a strong legacy of the party in Dundee City East, it’s really difficult to step into their shoes," he explained.
He added: “It would be a real privilege to take over, and it really is a place where you see the government delivering."
Robison started off as MSP for Dundee East, before Dundee City East was created for the 2011 election.
Since then, she has remained MSP for a further 15 years, before announcing she would be standing down at the 2026 election.
Gethins added: “I want to carry forward that legacy as someone with close roots in the city, and as someone who really connects, and whose family benefits from, the fact the city has a strong outward looking internationalist legacy.”
When speaking to constituents he said the main issues raised are the NHS and the current cost of living crisis.
Gethins added that anyone with “long term ambition” for Scotland, shouldn’t stick around too long in Westminster.
Gethins said: “For me this is about stepping into a parliament that actually delivers for people, because Westminster has far in excess of anything the Scottish Parliament got but I believe in independence because we are seeing a Government that’s not working.”
“I think I’ve been able to do a lot but fundamentally Westminster is a Parliament where Scottish MPs and Scotland are side-lined.
“I want to be in a parliament that delivers for Scotland and I want to be in a parliament for which I have some ambition. I think it’s important for us to be in the Scottish Parliament using the limited powers and they are limited to deliver for our constituents.”
He finished: “The job of delivering and doing stuff for folk is being left to the Scottish Parliament so we need to use our limited powers to do what we can for people but also crucially to get the full range of perks that would come with independence.”
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We spoke further about independence and Dundee City East as the “Yes” city.
Gethins highlighted that when door-knocking it’s clear there is still a strong appetite in Dundee for independence.
He added that personally “he wishes it wasn’t this way”, but that Westminster is not working for the people of Scotland.
“For me 12 years ago it was a good idea, but now it is an absolute necessity,” he finished.
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While The National’s MRP poll predicts that the SNP will hold on to the majority next month. I asked Gethins about his concern over the potential of Reform UK sitting in Holyrood alongside the SNP.
“We are going to tackle hate and misinformation head on," he said.
“We don’t do what Labour and the Conservatives do and lean into it [the rhetoric of Reform UK], we don’t adopt the language or feed into it.”
He added: “I was at a carers hustings and it was challenging and we tackled a range of issues. You can really see where Westminster policies are really really biting into people, and they have had real term impacts.”
“But, migration has been a good thing for the care sector for example. The care sector has shrunk and for carers the language and rhetoric by the Reform UK is having an impact on them. So, we need to tackle that head on."
It was made abundantly clear that he does not agree with the rhetoric that Dundee is city that the SNP "take for granted".
“There is no team I have ever encountered who work harder than people in Dundee.
“People like Shona Robison and her team have never stopped working, in between electrons what are they doing, out chapping doors. The team at Dundee they have never stopped working.
“The team work and work and work and work and they are an astonishing team that I am proud to be a part of. The team in Dundee have built their success on their own and they go out, they open doors, they listen and they speak to people, and then they deliver.”
What do voters think?
People on the ground had a real split opinion about politics and the state of Dundee.
The majority of people I spoke to said they weren’t planning to vote.
One local said it was "because they're all liars". He added: "Every single time someone comes in they promise a bunch of stuff and nothing happens.”
He then explained to me how his younger brother was disabled, and felt that since he became “an adult” he was abandoned by the system.
Another said he feels that no matter who is voted in “it’s the same company just different management”.
“If I was going to vote I would vote for the SNP just to keep the rest of them out.”
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A final non-voter echoed similar issues: “I’m not voting because no one helps anyway.
“If you go to the housing in Dundee, there is nobody there. I’ve been down about 10 times and still haven't had my issue solved.
“I also don’t keep well and trying to get a doctor's appointment.. There's just no one there to help.”
However, Lori, who would be voting, said: “I’m planning to keep out Reform so I’ll be voting for whoever is going to keep them out and voting tactically which is SNP first, and Greens second.
“But, all parties need to have a look at them. The SNP has only just named the genocide in Gaza as a genocide and they did invest over 8 and a half million pounds from 2016 in arms factory.”
Another voter said: “I am planning to vote and I’m planning to vote Greens, I think Greens policies are incredibly tied to what I believe.
“Two things that are really important to me are education and healthcare and I think their policies are the closest to me.
“I really think that the Greens have a plan to improve public services.”
Finally, a constituent said: “Put it this way, we should be putting Scots first. We’ve got a good country, we have oil and gas.
“Them Americans and that Trump is a bully, he’s just a bully. He’s a warmongerer and we shouldn’t be listening to him.”
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