Local MP Joanna Cherry has confirmed her intention to seek nomination for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election in the Edinburgh Central constituency.
Ms Cherry has confirmed that if she wins the nomination and election to Holyrood she would not serve a full term at Westminster and would seek to stand down as in her role as MP for Edinburgh West. She will be competing for the SNP nomination against former Westminster Leader Angus Robertson.
Ms Cherry, who lives in the Edinburgh Central seat and has been a member of the local branch since 2008 has consulted with her fellow branch members in Edinburgh Central and members of Edinburgh South West and has received strong encouragement to seek the candidacy when nominations open.
Commenting Joanna Cherry QC said:
Edinburgh Central is my home branch, I have been a member there since 2008. I have lived in the constituency since 2002 and since 2015 I have been the MP for Edinburgh South West which covers a significant part of the Central seat including Gorgie, Dalry, Haymarket, Fountainbridge and part of Tollcross/Bruntsfield.
I am very grateful to all the people who have approached me and encouraged me to put my hat in the ring when nominations open.
Scotland must have the right to escape Boris Johnson’s Brexit; we must have the right to choose our own future and we need a strategy to get us to that point of decision. With a large Tory majority across England, the UK is set firmly on a hard Tory agenda for the next decade. Scotland will be completely ignored at Westminster, the movement for Scotland to be an independent European nation can only be realised from Holyrood and I want to offer my services where I think they can be of most use.
I look forward to a forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence, SNP MPs at Westminster have never been there to settle down; I am for settling up. I choose Scotland and hope to be able to play my part as we create a modern independent state
