Election / Nugent enters race to become Shetland’s next MSP
SCOTTISH independence campaigner and former chair of Yes Shetland, Brian Nugent, has announced his intention to stand in May’s Scottish Parliament election.
He is the fifth prospective candidate who is throwing his hat into the ring for the Shetland constituency seat, with a sixth candidate expected to be announced at the end of the month.
Representing Sovereignty, formerly known as Restore Scotland, Nugent will campaign for Scottish Independence from the UK and the European Union.
He stood for Restore Scotland in the 2021 parliamentary elections receiving 90 votes.
Announcing his candidacy in a lengthy LinkedIn post on Hogmanay, Nugent said he could not bring himself to vote SNP due to their lack of vigour in pushing for Scottish independence.
Nugent, who first joined the SNP more than 50 years ago, said he suspected that today’s party leadership “has settled down” and was now against independence.
“I think they are actively working against independence; they believe in devolution, in maintaining devolution, administering Scotland for the London government,” he said.
“How many colonies have asked permission to become independent, and got it? Not many.”
And he called for MSPs in favour of Scottish independence to make a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), as there was no political way for Scotland to ever gain independence.
“Scotland is said to be in a voluntary union with England, but the problem with this is that there is no way out for Scotland from this voluntary union,” he said.
“There is no legal route to independence, there is no political route. The word voluntary means nothing in relation to Scotland.
“UDI is what the SNP should have done long ago; it is time for the voters to decide that that is the way forward and take their vote elsewhere.”
The other candidates known so far are in alphabetical order: John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP) and Emma Macdonald (Lib Dems).
Shetland South councillor Alex Armitage meanwhile has but his name forward to become the Scottish Greens candidate for the seat.
And Reform UK is expected to announce its candidate at the end of January.
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