Former council chief among seven candidates hoping to win Falkirk South by-election

Carol Beattie is the SNP candidate in the Falkirk South by-election
-Credit: (Image: Contributed)


The former chief executive of Stirling Council is among seven candidates hoping to win the Falkirk South by-election on October 5.

Nominations have now closed for the Falkirk Council contest, which will take place on October 17, in Falkirk South, which covers the town centre and high flats, as well as Hallglen and Tamfourhill.

The SNP candidate is Carol Beattie, who was, until May this year, the chief executive of Stirling Council.

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Brought up in Hallglen and living in Falkirk town centre, Ms Beattie says it was a "real honour" to have been selected by the SNP as the party's candidate.

She said: "As a local resident I am excited to see the progress being made in regenerating Falkirk Town Centre and encouraged by the investment our SNP administration is making on local housing across the Falkirk South ward.

"But I also know just how challenging things are for our people.

“After years of Tory austerity hitting the pockets and opportunities of everyone in our communities, this new Labour government is already showing us the type of government they are going to be.

"People may have voted for change at the recent general election, on the understanding that things will get better, but they didn’t vote to make our pensioners colder or poorer.

"They also voted for someone to stand up for them and not be posted missing on crucial votes."

SNP group leader, and leader of Falkirk Council, Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn, said: “To have a candidate of Carol’s calibre and skillset come forward to be our SNP candidate for Falkirk South is fantastic."

The Labour party candidate, Claire Aitken, is a community activist from Hallglen.

Former councillor David Grant is standing for the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party.

Hoping to cause an upset is Independent candidate Sharron McKean, founder of Falkirk & District Action Group, which has campaigned on local issues including problems with anti-social behaviour in Falkirk's high flats.

The Scottish Greens candidate is Tom McLaughlin; Sean McCay is standing for the Liberal Democrats; and Stuart Martin is standing for Reform UK.

Applications to register to vote must reach the Electoral Registration Officer by midnight on Tuesday, October 1. Applications to register can be made online at GOV.UK: Register to vote.

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