Scottish Labour have selected a new candidate for a key Glasgow seat after Pam Duncan-Glancy withdrew amid criticism of her ties to a convicted sex offender.
Partick East and Kelvindale councillor James Adams announced he had been selected as the party’s replacement on Thursday.
He posted on X: “Delighted to have been selected to fight the Glasgow Kelvin & Maryhill constituency for Scottish Labour.
“We need a new Scottish Government in May.”
Duncan-Glancy had been set to contest the seat until the Daily Record reported on her ongoing friendship with disgraced ex-councillor Sean Morton, who has been convicted of possessing indecent photographs of children on several occasions.
Formerly Labour’s education secretary, Duncan-Glancy said in December that she would not seek re-election because she did not want “a personal friendship to become a distraction”.
Currently, Ballot Box Scotland projects Labour to finish third in the constituency with 20.2% of the vote, behind incumbent Bob Doris of the SNP at 31.8% and Scottish Greens activist Iris Duane at 23.9%.
Meanwhile, the party has selected a replacement for Lothian MSP Foysol Choudhury, who lost the party whip last September amid an internal investigation into claims of "inappropriate conduct”.
Businessman and charity director Choudhury, who has represented the Lothian region as an MSP since 2021, was to stand in the Edinburgh Northern constituency until the allegations emerged.
Charity worker Eleanor Ryan-Saha has been selected as the party’s hopeful for the seat, where she will face off against a trio of Edinburgh councillors; Tory Christopher Cowdy, Lib Dem Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, and Euan Hyslop of the SNP.
The Edinburgh Evening News reports that Ryan-Saha, who works for a disability charity and lives in the constituency, comfortably defeated an all-women shortlist for the chance to win the seat.
A Labour Party spokesperson told the paper: "The Labour Party takes all complaints seriously. They are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures, and any appropriate action is taken.”
The latest projection from Ballot Box Scotland shows the SNP winning the seat with 28.6% of the vote, with the Lib Dems coming in second with 23.5%.
Reform UK would claim third with 14.1%, Labour and the Greens would each secure 12.2 per cent%, and the Tories would gain just 7.8%.
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Writing on Crowdfunder in a bid to raise cash for her campaign, Ryan-Saha said that the constituency is “at a crossroads”.
She remarked: “I’m not just a politician; I’m a neighbour. I’ve lived here for a decade. I’ve raised my family here. And I’ve seen firsthand how the system is failing those who need it most.
“I am running because I have the lived and professional experience to take the fight to the SNP."
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