Edinburgh MSP selected to stand for Conservatives against Joanna Cherry at general election

Lothian Tory MSP Sue Webber has been chosen to stand against the SNP's Joanna Cherry at the general election.

Ms Webber, who was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2021 and is convener of its education committee, won the selection contest to become the Conservative candidate in Edinburgh South West, where Ms Cherry has been the MP since 2015.

Ms Cherry had a majority of 11,982 at the last election in 2019, with the Tories in second place. Labour has chosen city council transport and environment convener Scott Arthur as its candidate in the constituency.

Sue Webber has been chosen as Conservative candidate for Edinburgh South West at the general election.

Ms Webber was born and brought up in Edinburgh and went to Currie High School and Edinburgh University. She became active in politics during the 2014 independence referendum and served as a councillor for Pentland Hills ward before being elected to the Scottish Parliament. She also ran her own business supplying equipment for health care services.

As well as chairing Holyrood's education committee she serves as her party's spokesperson on drugs and alcohol policy. She said he had decided to stand for Westminster because she believed the party needed to put up the strongest possible candidate in each constituency. And she said her selection meant there were "two strong women" standing for the seat "which is great to see".

Asked about her prospects, she said: "I think I'm in with as good a shout as any of the other seats where the Conservatives are the second-placed party."

She continued: "This election in Scotland is all about SNP failure - our hospitals face record waiting times, standards in our schools are plummeting, the police are underfunded, and our roads are an utter disgrace.

“Joanna Cherry might be a thorn in the side of the SNP leadership, but she still represents the SNP and the Nationalists have let down the people of Edinburgh South West for nearly 20 years. They have neglected our services because of their unrelenting focus on independence and the only way to end this distraction is for voters to stop supporting their candidates.

“Every constituency needs a strong opponent to take them on and I have a proven track record of delivering for local people and for standing up to the SNP, particularly in the battle to save Currie High School.”

Edinburgh South West was represented for 10 years by the late Labour MP and former Chancellor Alistair Darling until he stood down in 2015 and it was won by Ms Cherry.