PEOPLE IN EAST RENFREWSHIRE SHOULD NOT BE AN "AFTERTHOUGHT IN MURPHY'S POLITICAL GAMES"

There are reports that Scottish Labour Leader Jim Murphy intends to stand again as a candidate for the East Renfrewshire seat in the May general election - despite his intention to stand for Holyrood in 2016, should he still be leader of his party after the Westminster elections. Mr Murphy said on the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme in December that he was ‘’not attracted ‘’ to serving as an MP and MSP at the same time.

Commenting, SNP candidate for East Renfrewshire Kirsten Oswald said:

“Jim Murphy has a lot of explaining to do to the people of East Renfrewshire. With less than 70 days to go to the general election he has left this decision up to the wire – his dithering is a sign of weakness. When elected as leader he made it clear he was 'not attracted' to the idea of being an MP and an MSP at the same time - so would he intend only serving the people of East Renfrewshire for a year at Westminster if he gets elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2016?

“People in East Renfrewshire deserve an MP who’ll always put them first – rather than one who views our area as an afterthought in his political games. I’m now looking forward to debating him – and holding him to account on spending the last two and a half years joined at the hip with the Tories and backing Tory plans for a further £30bn of austerity cuts.

“By voting for the SNP in May, people in East Renfrewshire and across Scotland know that they’ll have an opportunity to elect an SNP MP who’ll always have their interests at heart, and use our power to achieve an alternative to austerity, halt Trident renewal and use the money saved to secure more investment in the things people hold dear – such as health and education."