Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr has been selected by his party to run in North Tayside at the next UK election despite currently serving in Holyrood.
The Forfar-born Conservative said it was a “great honour” to have been picked to fight for the newly created seat as he eyes a switch to Westminster.
Mr Kerr served as a Tory MP in Stirling for two years after being elected in 2017, but later lost the seat back to the SNP.
Since 2021 he has been a regional MSP for Central Scotland, but he admitted recently he was “considering” a return to the House of Commons.
The Tory politician previously confirmed he would quit Holyrood if he is successful in winning a seat at the next general election.
‘Greatest honour’
Mr Kerr said: “I was born and brought up in this part of Scotland and joined the Scottish Conservative Party when I was still at Forfar Academy.
“It is the greatest honour to have been selected by my party to contest this new seat for the Scottish Conservatives and I will give it my all.
“I will be campaigning on local issues and look forward to meeting residents and businesses across north Perthshire and Angus over the coming weeks and months.”
Mr Kerr previously said he “loved” his stint in Westminster and admitted he was keen to go back.
But he was accused by rival parties of trying to “bail out” from Holyrood due to disarray within the Scottish Conservatives.
Labour’s Jackie Baillie said: “Nothing can say more about the disarray in the Scottish Tory MSP group than Stephen Kerr trying to bail out to Westminster.
“Ditching Scotland’s parliament to return to the leather seats of the Palace of Westminster says it all about the Tory mentality.”
Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart said: “Stephen Kerr is showing just how little respect he and the rest of the Tories have for Scotland’s parliament that he wants to scuttle off back to Westminster at the first opportunity.”