Prominent Highland councillor to seek Holyrood seat
A senior Highland councillor has declared his intention to stand for the Scottish National Party at next year’s Holyrood election.
Richard Laird is to seek selection for the SNP’s regional list for the Highlands and Islands in an autumn contest.
The 29-year-old, who was born in Inverness and still lives in Dalneigh in the ward he represents, has risen through the council ranks to become chairman of the audit and scrutiny committee and depute leader of the SNP group just three years after he was first elected as the city’s youngest-ever councillor.
He said: "It has been a privilege to represent the city in which I was born and raised on the Highland Council and now I wish to represent the region that I call home in the Scottish Parliament.
"I am proud of what I have achieved as a councillor, but many of the troubling issues I deal with every day can only really be resolved in Holyrood. That is why I seek this opportunity to represent the Highlands and Islands in our national parliament."
Councillor Laird has campaigned effectively on a number of issues, particularly those affecting poorer communities.
He attracted national attention during 2013 for his stance against the proliferation of betting shops in impoverished areas.
He later resigned from the Highland Licensing Board in protest against the "inability of the licensing system to protect vulnerable people".
He was one a prominent local campaigner for independence and has recently attacked the current structure of local government in the Highlands and Islands, controversially calling for the council to be dissolved and replaced with "smaller, more democratic, local authorities."
He added: "At 18, I became active in politics to make this a better country. I have sought to do that as a councillor and would continue as a parliamentarian.
"I don’t want to be an MSP to make-up the numbers. I want to be an MSP to make a difference."
