Scottish Lib Dems announce Badenoch Holyrood candidate
The first volleys in the Scottish Parliament election due to take place in 2016 have been fired.
The Highland Liberal Democrats have confirmed Highland councillor Kate Stephen as their candidate for Badenoch, Skye and Lochaber.
Mrs Stephen spent several years working for the UHI Centre for Rural Health, leading an award-winning project tackling issues affecting older people in rural areas.
Badenoch and Strathspey MP Danny Alexander (Lib Dem) said: "Kate will be a fantastic MSP for the Highlands. Her record of championing health and older people across the region is well known, and she works very hard for the people of Culloden and Ardersier on the Highland Council.
"If Kate is elected I know that she will work for our area and bring the focus of the Scottish Government back to the issues that matter most, like creating jobs, building homes and investing in our infrastructure locally."
Commenting on her selection, Mrs Stephen said: "I love the Highlands and value our way of life. It is a huge honour for me to be given the opportunity to represent the constituency where I was born, and where my family are from.
"People are fed up with Nationalist MSPs obsessed with independence rather than the right priorities for our region.
"The Highlands have a strong Liberal tradition where the likes of Russell Johnson and John Farquhar Munro have spoken up on the issues that really matter to local people.
"The policies that suit central government often simply aren’t right for people and businesses in our rural communities. The SNP’s relentless drive to impose centralised, Central Belt control on our key public services has to be challenged."
