The election no one expected to hold is officially going ahead. With a Brexit extension until Halloween, the UK is obliged to elect MEPs to the European Parliament. Nominations closed on Thursday and the full list of candidates finalised. A total of 50 candidates are standing for 8 parties or as independents, compared to 54 candidates across 9 parties in 2014.
I’ll cover each party in the order they are listed in the Notice of Poll and highlight any candidates who currently hold elected office, as well as any recent candidacies for other candidates who may be elected. A full rundown of every candidate wouldn’t really be feasible as a first pass at this, but I may add further detail over the campaign. If there are any details I’ve missed, please let me know!
Change UK
- David MacDonald – Councillor for Clarkston, Netherlee & Williamwood ward (East Renfrewshire) 2017-Present (Elected as Independent)*
- Peter Griffiths
- Kate Forman
- Heather Astbury
- Colin McFadyen
- Cathy Edgeworth
Change UK-The Independent Group, who may be learning the lesson of perhaps coming up with a solid name in the first place rather than getting stuck between two brands, didn’t have a good start to their campaign when their top candidate resigned.
* Not content with losing one lead candidate, David MacDonald resigned from the party mid-campaign. That functionally makes Peter Griffiths Change UK’s new lead candidate in Scotland, but
Conservatives
- Nosheena Mobarik – MEP 2017-Present
- Ian McGill – Candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith Constituency GE17
- Shona Haslam – Councillor for Tweeddale East ward 2017-Present, Leader of Scottish Borders Council
- Iain Whyte – Councillor for Inverleith ward (Edinburgh) 2007-Present, Conservative Group Leader
- Andrea Gee
- Michael Kusznir
Labour
- David Martin – MEP 1984-Present
- Jayne Baxter – MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife 2012-16
- Craig Miller
- Amy Lee Fraioli
- Callum O’Dwyer – Candidate for Aberdeen South Constituency GE17
- Angela Bretherton
Liberal Democrats
- Sheila Ritchie
- Fred Mackintosh
- Catriona Bhatia – Councillor for Tweeddale West (Scottish Borders) 2007-17
- Vita Zaporozcenko
- John Edward
- Clive Sneddon – Leader of North East Fife District Council 1988-96
Scottish Green Party
- Maggie Chapman – Party Co-Convener, Councillor for Leith Walk ward (Edinburgh) 2007-15, North East Region candidate 2016.
- Lorna Slater
- Gillian Mackay
- Chas Booth – Councillor for Leith ward (Edinburgh) 2012-Present
- Mags Hall
- Allan Faulds – Ballot Box Scotland Nerd 2018-Present
Yes, that is indeed me at the end of the list. Yes, I’m a Green (it says that on my about page and my Twitter bio links to my personal account, I don’t keep it secret!) Of course someone who is into elections enough to have an entire website about them has some personal partisan political opinions. Yes, I’m a good boy and won’t otherwise mention or let those views influence my sacred duty to cover elections in a fair manner.
SNP
- Alyn Smith – MEP 2004-Present
- Christian Allard – Councillor for Torry/Ferryhill ward (Aberdeen) 2017-Present, MSP for North East Region 2013-16
- Aileen McLeod – MSP for South Region 2011-16
- Margaret Ferrier – MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West 2015-17
- Heather Anderson – Councillor for Tweeddale West ward (Scottish Borders) 2017-Present
- Alex Kerr
The Brexit Party
- Louis Stedman-Bryce
- Karina Walker
- James Ferguson-Hannah
- Stuart Waiton
- Paul Aitken – Councillor for Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor (East Renfrewshire), 2017-Present (Elected as Conservative)
- Calum Walker
Notable by his absence is David Coburn, elected as UKIP MEP in 2014, who defected to the Brexit Party.
UKIP
- Donald MacKay – Candidate for Lanark and Hamilton East Constituency GE17
- Janice MacKay
- Otto Inglis
- Mark Meechan
- Roy Hill
- Neil Wilson
Despite making a big deal out of their selection of Mark Meechan, better known to the public as Count Dankula the Nazi Pug Guy, he’s only 4th on UKIP’s list.
Independent Candidates
- Gordon Edgar – Councillor for Selkirkshire ward (Scottish Borders), 2007-Present
- Ken Parke
Two un-linked candidates are standing as independents this time around. Given the £5000 deposit to stand for the EU I’m rather surprised to see any given the short notice, but interesting nonetheless. Gordon Edgar as a sitting councillor at least makes a vague kind of sense, but all I could find about Ken Parke on a quick Google is his crematorium. Alright then?
It’s worth noting the relative prominence of women candidates this time around compared to 2014, when only the Greens had a woman at the head of their list, and only one of the 6 MEPs elected was a woman. This time, 3 of 8 party lists are headed by women, and the Greens in particular don’t even have a man until 4th place. Of the candidates, 21 (42%) are women versus 19 (35%) last time around. Finally, I’d reckon 5 of those women (Con 1, Green 1, LD 1, Lab 2, SNP 3) are in positions that are most likely to elect MEPs, just ahead of men with four (Brexit 1, Lab 1, SNP 1 & 2). That said, those four men are in the four absolutely most winnable spots.