Labour announce Robina Barton as North Isles General Election candidate

The Labour Party Candidate for Orkney and Shetland in the General Election on June 8 will be Robina Rendall Barton.

Barton, 39, stood in Shetland during last year’s Scottish Parliamentary elections, coming third behind the incumbent Liberal Democrat candidate Tavish Scott and the late Danus Skene, who stood for the SNP.

Barton said she feels compelled to stand in this election because she is appalled by the developments seen in the UK and beyond in recent times, citing “the rise and rise of Scottish nationalism, the game playing of the Tories in relation to the UK’s membership of the EU, and the lies that have been told to our electorate, seemingly with impunity.”

She added: “Most worryingly, as we lurch from referendum to election the day-to-day government of the country is suffering, and inevitably those who are already struggling in our society find their lives made even harder – an example that springs to mind is the abhorrent Tory rape clause.”