General Election, Kirkcaldy: SNP ‘all to play for’ as candidate looks to good omens

The seat has been tweaked by Boundary Commission changes, and the SNP go head to head with Alba for the very first time, but as far as the candidate is concerned, it is game on.

“It is all to play for. I enjoy the challenge,” she said. “I have spent a lifetime campaigning for independence, and this is happening on July 4, Independence Day … and my agent, David Barrett has won every election he has run, so I don’t want that run to end!”

The fact the election was called at short notice by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said Lesley, “showed no respect for Scottish school holidays” and it left all parties working overtime to get their teams up and running. That has included leaflets, canvassing, a hustings and a manifesto launch with more to come in the countdown to the vote.

For the past seven years Lesley has been one of the councilors for the Kinghorn, Burntisland and Western Kirkcaldy ward, and is a familiar figure in the community. A lifelong party member - she joined aged 17 - she went to Madras College and studied accountancy at Dundee College of Technology before going on to become an insolvency examiner for 27 years working in London and Birmingham as well as working with a charity organising peer support for mums, before returning to the Kingdom and settling in her ward.

The issues raised on the doorstep are wrapped around the cost of living and austerity., and the SNP candidate has no doubt where the blame lies - and the solution.

“It’s all down to Brexit and Trussonomics,” she said. “If we get a majority of SNP MPs then we negotiate to get our freedom. We win here and play by Westminster rules. Brexit was done on 50% of the vote, so if 50% of Scots vote for SNP MPs we see that as a case for negotiating for independence.

“We want a partnership of equals with the rest of the UK. We should be able to make all our own decisions, but if you do not have control of finance and energy you cannot make a full impact on the cost of living and improving budgets in Scottish households.

“ We can half electricity charges - standing charges here red more than they are in London- and we are exporting a lot of electricity south of the border. That’s the UK not being fair again. We see the NHS being privatised in England and our funding for up here is linked directly to that

We als have more doctors here and our nurses are better - the Scottish Government is putting money into health.”

The SNP candidate dismisses Labour’s promise of a new direction if they win the election.

“Labour don’t look to make decisions or make things better,” she said. “I am not like that - I want to get the job done and help people.

“Take Fife Council’s housing emergency - that was hypocritical. It has been going on since I joined in 2017. When it came to setting the budget Labour went for a 5% increase. We had a 3% proposal which was a workable model. That was down to Tories and Lib Dems voting with Labour. Had the Scottish Government not frozen Council Tax, that would have seen households hit again.”

She wants to see more people living in the town centre to help regenerate it, and bringing more investment and jobs to the constituency.

“More people leave Kirkcaldy to work than stay here - we have to change that,” she said. “Than means tapping into the opportunities of the Freeport investment at Rosyth which can come round to places like Burntisland. We have to keep our local economy going by supporting independent businesses, and finance is the key.

“We send money to the Treasury, and only get a portion back,. We want all of it back. That is an extra £30-40billion - not £350,000 on the side of a bus. Just think what we could do with that.”

Much of Lesley’s hopes could hinge on where the nationalist vote goes, with Alba also stepping on the SNP territory. Is it an issue?“I’m not seeing Alba out on the doors,” she said. “They are not registering when we are out canvassing when I ask people which party they identify with or are going to vote for. I think I’ve come across one so far, and we have canvassed hundreds of doors.”