Election / Hannah Mary says tide is turning towards SNP out on election campaign trail
“THIS IS my personal phone number,” Hannah Mary Goodlad says, reaching into her top pocket to pull out an iPhone. “If you’re not happy with what I achieve, give me a ring.”
It may not be the boldest election promise of her campaign to be Shetland’s MSP, but it may be the bravest.
Giving out your own number to strangers is one thing but doing it to everyone you meet on the campaign trail – especially one which has become as bitter and acerbic as this – takes pluck.
For Hannah Mary, who hopes to become Shetland’s first ever SNP MSP, it represents the type of politician she wants to be.
“I want people to be able to get in touch with me,” she says as we march through Mossbank’s housing developments.
Shetland News has joined Hannah Mary and her mother, Wilma, out on the doorsteps as the countdown to the 7 May election ticks down into its final weeks.
Hannah Mary, a former SNP campaign manager, has been out on the campaign trail for over 12 months – announcing her intention to stand in March 2025.
When she signalled her intent to contest the election, there were 414 days until voters went to the polls. There are just 21 to go when Shetland News joins team Goodlad in the North Mainland.
On the doorsteps Hannah Mary says they are “hearing a Lib Dem swing” towards SNP as they seek to overturn a narrow defeat five years ago, where Beatrice Wishart saw off Tom Wills by just 806 votes.
This time around it is Hannah Mary and Emma Macdonald leading the way for the two parties, with the SNP candidate repeatedly stating that a woman will win the election – it is just up to Shetland to decide which one.
At our first door we meet our first prospective voter, who tells us she has always voted Labour – but is considering switching to SNP and Hannah Mary.
Housing is a key issue, she tells Hannah Mary, who agrees – explaining the SNP’s election pledge to give first-time buyers £10,000 towards a home deposit.
Wilma, who was formerly the head teacher of the nearby Mossbank Primary School, also has an important part to play in the election pitch.
Hannah Mary “would get things done”, her mother says. “She just needs to be given the chance.”
Our first prospective voter seems convinced, and happily takes a leaflet – with Hannah Mary’s personal number – as we head back out into a dreich day.
On the way out the mother and daughter stop to praise the woman’s garden, with Hannah Mary telling me that one of the best aspects of the campaign trail is getting to take “mental inspiration from the gardens you see”.
Meeting people at their front doors is a great antidote to the vitriolic social media environment, which seems to see every candidate screamed down and ridiculed, mocked or insulted.
On our afternoon in Mossbank not a cross word is spoken against Hannah Mary – not even from those who politely explain they won’t be giving her or the party their vote.
Housing, transport and energy are the three key issues that they are hearing from people on the doors, Hannah Mary explains, although some areas have different priorities.
“In Ollaberry, Northmavine and Eshaness it was lack of childcare and fear about school closures,” she explains.
“Whalsay was fishing, but everywhere is cost of living, and everywhere is NorthLink.”
The Northern Isles ferry service has formed a crucial part of her campaign, from the removal of peak ferry fares for islanders to her mooted idea of a quota of cabin and car space for islanders.
The peak ferry fare removal, and who deserves credit for it, is an issue still being picked over in the comment sections. But in Mossbank Hannah Mary does not hesitate to tell prospective voters that she believes it was the SNP who removed it.
At the next door we hear concerns about the lack of balance between the looming Viking turbines and the high energy costs being felt by islanders.
Hannah Mary agrees, saying that we have “all the energy and none of the power”, but points out that energy is matter controlled by the UK Government in Westminster.
That leads awkwardly into the issue of independence, which is brought up as a reason not to back Hannah Mary on 7 May.
“That is a different vote,” she tells one voter. “What we’re voting for in May is the right person.”
Hannah Mary is well aware that she is trying to turn the tide in Shetland, aiming to become the first SNP MSP since the Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999.
“If you’ve voted one way your whole life then it’s a journey you kind of have to take people on to vote for you, and we’ve been taking people on that journey for 12 months,” she says.
It’s very clear from our afternoon in Mossbank that many people have come with Hannah Mary on that journey.
More than one person tells her that they’ve been following her social media videos, and several say they agree with her policies and what she has been calling for.
One of her key election pledges has been a Shetland Energy Act, which she says would lower energy bills, give Shetland local planning control over new developments and a minimum 20 per cent community stake in any future energy projects.
It is another pledge though – to pilot a “growers box” with seeds, tools and access to a community Polycrub or allotment – for every household in Shetland which she said has captured the most attention.
Hannah Mary tells people that she meets on the doorsteps that she believes “we need change here in Shetland” – and it’s clear many agree with her.
And her mother Wilma proves to be an invaluable asset on the campaign trail, engaging with people about her historic links to Mossbank and acting as a ‘hype woman’ for Hannah Mary and her Holyrood prospects.
Whether those prospects turn into a reality on 7 May remains to be seen, but as we move from door to door – and as Hannah Mary maps out a trip to Unst the following day – it’s clear that she is putting her all into the campaign.
After 12 months of near constant campaigning, is she not burned out?
“I get such energy out of getting out and speaking to people,” she answers instead.
Energy has been the key word in some many of the conversations today and throughout the campaign. The vote on 7 May will show whether that energy has been well spent, and if Hannah Mary’s power has turned Shetland in the SNP’s favour.
There are seven more candidates contesting the Shetland seat. They are in alphabetical order: Alex Armitage (Greens), Douglas Barnett (Conservatives), Vic Currie (Reform UK), John Erskine (Labour), Emma Macdonald (Liberal Democrats), Brian Nugent (Alliance to Liberate Scotland) and Peter Tait (independent).
Shetland News intends to run features on each candidate in the run up to the vote on 7 May. You can read these at the links below:
- Vic Currie (Reform)
- John Erskine (Labour)
- Brian Nugent (Alliance to Liberate Scotland)
- Peter Tait (independent)
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