New Scottish 'independence first' party reveals candidates for Holyrood elections
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The Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) is one of a handful of new splinter parties looking to challenge the SNP and the Greens for the pro-independence vote on the regional list.
Candidates include several former SNP councillors, including council group leaders and other independence activists.
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Hide AdAmong them include a former SNP councillor in North Lanarkshire who left the party following a furious row with fellow members.
Julie McAnulty won a defamation action against fellow activist Sheena McCulloch after she was falsely accused of racism, winning £40,000 in damages.
Due to the row, which centred on emails sent by Ms McCulloch claiming Ms McAnulty made a racist remark while campaigning, Ms McAnulty was deselected as a council candidate.
She stood unsuccessfully as an independent in the 2017 local elections after resigning from the SNP.
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Hide AdMs McAnulty will now stand as an ISP member in Central Scotland alongside former SNP member Derick Tulloch.
Roddy McCuish, a former SNP group leader and council leader of Argyll and Bute Council, is also standing as a candidate for the ISP in the Highlands and Islands.
He was also the first elected representative of the ISP, having been elected as an independent before joining the party.
Not since 2003 and the SSP under Tommy Sheridan, which won six seats, has a pro-independence party other than the SNP or the Greens won representation to Holyrood.
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Hide AdSir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and one of the leading experts in the field of Scottish independence, told The Scotsman in December there was “no discernible evidence” new parties would impact the Holyrood results.
He said: “There is no discernible evidence to date that the various pro-independence parties other than the SNP and the Greens will have an impact on the outcome of May's election.”
The full list of candidates is as follows:
Central Scotland: Julie McAnulty, Derick Tulloch
Glasgow: Stephen Armstrong, Cris Thacker
Highlands and Islands: Ross Weir, Roddy McCuish
Lothian: Matthew Wilson, John Hannah
Mid-Scotland and Fife: Andrew Bentley-Steed, Roy Mackie
North-East Scotland: Julia Pannell, Dr Peter Ashby
South Scotland: Ewan Steed
West Scotland: Colette Walker, Iain Forsyth
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