Something Rotten in the Region of Lothian

According to the Sunday Herald things are not all happy and light in the SNP camp in the Lothian region. Surprisingly the same thing happened about 4 years ago when it came time to select their regional list for the Scottish Parliament elections. The end result then was that Margo MacDonald, a sitting MSP, was selected too low on their list, resigned and got elected as an indepent fighting for Scottish independence.

This time it appears that Fiona Hyslop has been receiving emails (unsolicited she claims) that could be miscontrued as breaking her parties rules regarding selection, especially if the initiative originated with her. Something she is denying strongly. However, the West Lothian devide between Linlithgow and Livingston is also involved in the article. As a sitting MSP Fiona would obviously be considered a serious contender by any party including her own.

However, Livingston general election and by-election candidate Angela Constance, who has years of West Lothian Council experience, has been branded an also-ran by the schemer behind Margo's defection Calum Cashley, who political experience amounts to working for an MSP; Ms Hyslop in fact.

Strangley, Alex Salmond said of Angela:

Angela Constance is a trusted and effective local councillor. Her commitment to Scotland and the community where she lives is absolute. She is the only candidate who can beat Labour.

The article doesn't mention how many men are in the running for the Lothian list but only two women, the West Lothian duo are mentioned, the others appear to be Edinburgh based, where the SNP have no councillors. Might be a case of Edinbugh centerist policy, or maybe straight forward sexism at work here.