A FORMER senior SNP figure has launched a bid to become an MSP just nine months after losing out in the UK General Election.
Toni Giugliano is aiming to become the SNP candidate for Falkirk West with a pledge to put "independence first", having said last month in a column for The National that independence "barely featured" in the General Election campaign and has since "faded even further" from the party's agenda.
The seat is currently held by former health secretary Michael Matheson, who has announced he will not stand again, having served in the Parliament since it was reconvened.
Matheson was caught up in a scandal last year after it emerged he had racked up an £11,000 data bill on a parliamentary iPad while on holiday in Morocco. He was eventually banned from Holyrood for 27 sitting days and had his salary withdrawn for 54.
Giugliano, who has secured a nomination to stand in the seat, said Scotland "cannot afford to drift while the world becomes more unstable" and the UK Government continues to "marginalise Scottish interests at home and abroad".
He said the SNP owes it to "giants of the movement" to finish their work and ensure independence is achieved.
“Giants of our movement like Winnie Ewing and Margo Macdonald didn’t win battles for us to sit on our hands," Giugliano told The National.
"We owe it to them and future generations to finish the job.
“So my message to SNP members is simple – if you want independence back on the agenda you need MSPs who will prioritise it.
“In 2014 I was at the heart of building the grassroots Yes movement, and I stand ready to bring that movement together again."
Giugliano, who used to be the party's policy development convener, ran for Falkirk constituency at Westminster last year but lost out to Labour's Euan Stainbank as the SNP's vote share in the area plummeted by 20%.
“That’s why my conference motion to relaunch a national Yes campaign must now be delivered. The path to independence becomes unstoppable when we consistently carry the clear majority of Scotland with us," said Giugliano.
“Countries our size, like Finland, Ireland and Estonia, are helping shape Europe’s future, from defence strategy to energy security. Scotland, meanwhile, is stuck watching from the cheap seats in isolated Brexit Britain. That’s the cost of Westminster control, and it’s a cost we can no longer afford.
"Frankly there has never been a better time to make the case for independence. In less than a year, Keir Starmer has shown beyond any doubt that Scotland gets shafted no matter who’s in charge at Westminster. He froze our pensioners, cut billions from disabled people, broke his promises on energy bills and threw the workers of Grangemouth to the wolves.
“I stood in Falkirk less than a year ago – I'm now asking local members to let me finish the job."
It comes after former Yes Scotland researcher and Glasgow councillor Angus Millar announced he will stand for selection in Glasgow Anniesland.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has also secured backing from SNP members and has been formally nominated for the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine seat.
He previously faced backlash from inside and outside the party after announcing his intention to stand for the seat while also remaining an MP. He later backed down and said he would no longer seek a dual mandate.
An attempt to fight Flynn for the nomination was launched by Anouk Kloppert, an SNP councillor in Aberdeenshire, but she has failed to win the backing of local members at a branch meeting.
