Four Orkney candidates to contest May election

It has been confirmed that four candidates have put their names forward to stand for the Orkney constituency in the Scottish Parliament Election in May.

The deadline for nominations for the poll closed at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon.

The candidates whose names will appear on the ballot paper are:

• Samuel Bown — Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
• Coilla Drake — Scottish Labour Party.
• Robert Fraser Leslie — Scottish National Party (SNP).
• Liam Scott McArthur — Scottish Liberal Democrats.

The election will be held on Thursday, May 6.

Voters will have two votes. One is to elect an MSP to represent the Orkney Constituency. The other is to elect regional representatives from a list of political parties and individual candidates.

Everyone in Scotland is represented by eight MSPs, one for their constituency (e.g. Orkney) and seven for the larger region in which they live (e.g. Highlands and Islands).

Further information about the election can be found here www.orkney.gov.uk/may21

A full introduction of all four candidates is featured in this week’s The Orcadian, available online and in the shops.

We will be covering the election campaign week-by-week by putting a series of “hot topic” issues to candidates. See future editions of the newspaper to find out more about what each of the candidates stand for.