Former Labour MSP Karen Whitefield has been selected as the party’s 2015 general election candidate in Falkirk, the constituency which has been at the centre of multiple controversies.
She fought off the challenge of Pam Duncan and Monica Lennon to win the backing of local members as the replacement for disgraced MP Eric Joyce.
Mr Joyce was kicked out of the party after committing an assault in a House of Commons bar, and now represents the constituency as an independent.
His ejection sparked a controversial selection process which became mired in allegations of vote-rigging, igniting a chain of events that ultimately brought the Grangemouth Ineos plant to the brink of closure.
Speaking after her selection, Ms Whitefield conceded that the party will have to work hard to regain people’s trust following Mr Joyce’s crimes and the fraught selection process to replace him.
“I am delighted and greatly honoured to have been given the opportunity to work for the Labour party and serve the people of Falkirk in the run up to the general election and I hope they will put their trust in me,” she said.
“The next step is all about campaigning, getting on to the streets and into the communities and making sure that they understand what the Labour party stands for, that we care and can make a difference for them and will stand up for them.”