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Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Paul Hutcheon

Labour hopeful in Rutherglen and Hamilton West 'by election' seat has campaign footage from Aberdeen

A Labour contender for a likely by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West has released a video with footage of herself in Aberdeen.

Deena Tissera can be seen promoting her candidacy while standing in Pittodrie stadium - 150 miles away from the constituency she wants to represent.

Voters may face a by-election in the seat after Margaret Ferrier, elected on an SNP ticket exposed the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death” after breaking Covid laws.

Labour, who are confident of defeating the SNP, will select a candidate for the seat tonight, but the contest has been marred by claims of a stitch up.

Candidates were excluded from the shortlist and a formal complaint was made about the process.

One of hopefuls, Tissera, is a councillor in Aberdeen and she recently tweeted a link to her campaign pitch.

One Labour member mocked the video as it showed Tissera at Pittodrie - a stadium with no obvious connection to Rutherglen or Hamilton.

The councillor has shown an interest in a number of selections in the west of Scotland.

A source said: “It’s absurd that an Aberdeen councillor with zero knowledge of Rutherglen and Hamilton West made the shortlist at the expense of local candidates. Stitching up selections is not going to impress members or voters.”

Other candidates include Michael Shanks, Greg Irwin and Maureen Devlin.

Tissera said: “I have been asked about providing more sport facilities in Rutherglen and Hamilton West and the reason for the picture of Aberdeen FC was to highlight to the members that AFC have worked very hard with The Dennis Law Trust and the Cruyff Foundation to provide 3 Cruyff courts in Aberdeen.

"As part of my answers to members of the CLP was to highlight what could be done in South Lanarkshire by professional football clubs, the council, and others such as Cruyff to bring about much needed facilities. For me, it is important to see how we can use best practices from right across Scotland to deliver locally."

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