Councillor Ricky Henderson has been chosen to represent the Labour Party in the general election for local constituency Edinburgh South West.
Councillor Henderson currently represents the Pentland Hills ward, which includes Clovenstone. He has links with the area with having previously worked with the Community Council and the Healthy Living Centre. He is Convener of the Health, Social Care and Housing Committee and has served as a Councillor since 1999. The Councillor has previously stood for election as MSP for Scottish Parliament equivalent of the constituency, Edinburgh Pentlands, but was defeated. He was selected ahead of other nominees including Councillor Norma Austin Hart and former civil servant Angus Armstrong.
Speaking after the selection on Saturday, 31 January, Cllr Henderson said:
I am absolutely delighted to have been chosen to succeed Alistair Darling as Labour’s candidate. He will be a very hard act to follow but I am looking forward to the campaign ahead. It will be hard work but I know Labour can hold this seat. The people of Edinburgh South West know that only by voting for Labour can they get eject David Cameron from Downing Street.
The constituency is currently represented by Alistair Darling who announced he would be resigning from politics last year. He added:
My congratulations to Ricky on his selection. I know he will be an excellent candidate. He understands the constituency and will be a first class MP. I’ll be doing all I can to ensure he wins the seat for Labour in May.
Labour had a majority of 8,447 in the last election ahead of Conservative candidate Jason Rust. Ricky Henderson will be competing against SNP candidate Joanna Cherry, Conservative candidate Gordon Lindhurst, Liberal Democrat candidate Daniel Farthing-Sykes and Green candidate Richard Doherty. You can find out more information about Ricky Henderson on his blog.
